Parents
by trallgorda
Summary: Following SG1's latest mission offworld, Daniel's parents show up at the SGC! Are they really who they claim to be?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Welcome to P9E-554, campers," O'Neill said as the event horizon dissipated behind them. "According to MALP readings, we have a nice little campground ahead of us. We've got trees, we've got rocks, we've got blue sky, and we've got…trees."

"Looks like Maine," Carter said, looking around. "Very…green and piney."

"Well, let's start wandering around," Daniel commented, digging in his vest for tissues. Why did his allergies always act up like this? "Hopefully we'll find something."

"You know what I like about Maine?" O'Neill said chummily as they headed away from the Stargate. "All the ice cream stands. They've got a lot of those in Maine. All of it, really good ice cream. That and spring water. They've got a lot of that, too."

"Maybe we will find some, O'Neill," Teal'c told him, taking point.

"Which? Spring water or ice cream?"

Space

Five hours later, they'd found an ideal campsite and Carter had taken tons of soil samples that she could analyze once they returned to Earth. They'd found no signs of civilization, but they were still scheduled to remain for another two days. Jack told Daniel not to give up hope, sooner or later they'd find something for him to play with. Some rock or other was bound to show up.

"Artifacts, Jack," Daniel reminded him, yawning.

"Yeah, those paperweights you've got all over your office. Those. You okay?"

"Just really tired," Daniel answered. "Didn't get much sleep last night."

"You went to bed early, though," Carter pointed out.

"Well, I had a lot of dreams last night."

"Were they pleasant ones, Daniel Jackson?" He was still intensely interested in dreams.

"No, they weren't, but really, I'm fine." Everyone left it at that, sensing that they weren't anything he wanted to talk about, but what they didn't know was that they had been dreams of his parents' deaths.

Much later that evening, the stars came out and it was a night like Minnesota, as Jack would say. All of them pulled out MREs and made dinner, chatting away companionably.

"What've we got tonight?" Jack said, plopping down on a handy log.

"Um, we've got chicken with noodles, macaroni and cheese, or beef and mushroom. Take your pick," Daniel said, looking through the packages.

"I think I'll have a taste adventure, then, and go with the mac and cheese."

"Beef and mushroom, please, Daniel Jackson."

"Chicken and noodles," Sam pleaded, hoping that this time they would be edible.

"Okay," Daniel said, tossing each of his friends their chosen packets. "And I'll go with…what the heck is that?"

"Aw, come on, Daniel, they're not that bad," Jack said, starting to open his.

"No, no, that's not it," he said, looking beyond where Jack sat. "I see light over there."

Everybody turned, staring. Sure enough, there was light and plenty of it. It looked like there were torches, but they were pretty far away.

"Okay, let's put out this fire and head over there," Jack said. "Daniel, get ready to do a meet'n'greet."

"Gotcha."

Close to an hour later, they found where the torchlight had been coming from. There was a large stone building covered with vines, which explained why they hadn't seen it before. What little they could see of the building made them all think of a large, moss-covered boulder, and they'd seen plenty of those already.

"Do you think everyone's gone inside?" Carter asked, looking at the door that was partially hidden by vines. It was covered by carvings that Daniel was busy looking at.

"They must have, but something about these carvings…"

"What is it, Daniel Jackson?"

"Well, we have what appears to be some runes, here. Younger Futhark, which originated around the second century A.D. The only problem is what it says."

"What does it say?" O'Neill asked.

"Um, 'Those who enter and have most need shall have the blessings of the elves.' Something along that line, but it seems that it means we'll actually _get_ something. I can't tell what, though."

"Well, let's go inside and find out, kids," O'Neill said, leading the way.

When they got inside, there was a very big feeling that they'd been expected. The place was packed, and everyone was facing the door they'd come through. Jack and Carter stopped, surprised, and Daniel went forward at Jack's signal.

"Hello," Daniel said in his best meet'n'greet attitude. "We are peaceful explorers from a place called Earth. We apologize for barging in like this, but we saw torchlight and wondered what or who it was."

"No apologies are needed," an elder man said, stepping forward, his hands out to grasp Daniel's in a gesture of greeting. "They told us you would be coming."

"They did?" Daniel said, surprised. "Who?"

"The elves, of course!" the old man said, smiling broadly. "The guardian spirits who watch over us and aid us in all things. They asked us to wait, because they wished you to be here during the communion tonight. They said there was one among you in great need."

"Great need?" Jack asked, surprised. "In need of what?"

"In need of their blessings, good sir," the old man replied. "I am Alberich, the headman of Aldiss village, and these good people you see around you are the villagers of Aldiss. We bid you welcome, strangers."

"Well, thank you," Daniel said. "I'm Daniel, and this is Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, and Teal'c. It is an honor to meet you."

"An honor to meet you as well," Alberich answered, turning to the waiting villagers. "Come, we must make our guests welcome!"

In a moment, the villagers descended upon the team, offering to take coats and hats and packs, as well as their guns, which the villagers referred to as "burdens." Jack said thanks, he'd keep his. They were shown to the very front of the building (Daniel thought it was a temple) and shown to seats behind a large table. They sat there with Alberich and other village elders, and food was brought out. Other villagers placed themselves in groups around the temple, sitting on rugs or cushions, and everyone was sharing food.

"The elves have told me that you will be curious about us," Alberich said kindly to Daniel. "They ask me to tell you that the groups you are seeing in the temple are clans or families, and it is customary for them all to eat together just as they would in their own homes."

"Th-thank you, I was wondering about that," Daniel said, surprised. "And it is customary for the elders to eat together?"

"Yes, it is," Alberich assured him. "We must be together since we all do the chants together. The chants will tell the elves we are ready to meet with them."

"I see," Daniel said while Jack raised a skeptical eyebrow a la Teal'c.

"The…elves tell you these things?" Jack asked, wondering if the old guy was cracked in the head.

"Yes, they do," Alberich told him. "Since I am the eldest, I am the one most used to hearing them, so they speak to me most since they can be sure their messages will be heard clearly and without misinterpretation."

"Do others hear them?" Carter wondered.

"Of course. We all do," another elder assured her. "As one grows older, the more clearly they are heard. The elves say that over time our ears become used to hearing them. That is all it is."

"We will talk more later," Alberich said kindly. "Now, it is time for our tired travelers to eat! The elves say that your intended dinner was not fit for anyone, not even dwarves, so please enjoy. There is a good deal of everything."

There was. There were several kinds of bread, roasted meats, cheeses, cooked vegetables in sauces or broth, and fruit and cakes. To drink, there was only cool spring water, which destroyed Jack's theory of "communion" being nothing more than wine going to one's head. Dinner lasted for hours, and every time that SG-1 thought it was over, another course was offered. Finally, Alberich asked them if they'd had enough, and they were more than happy to assure him that they had and that everything had been positively wonderful.

"Beats macaroni and cheese that tastes like chicken," Jack said, joking.

"Yes," Alberich said, somewhat confused as the last of the dishes and food were taken away. "Good. Now, it is almost time for communion."

"Communion?" Teal'c asked.

"With the elves. They are coming. Everyone, get ready!"

Immediately, people rushed to their respective clans and sat down, looking excited and happy.

"What should we do?" Daniel asked.

"Just remain where you are," Alberich told him. "I told you, the elves wish you to be present tonight."

"Okey-dokey," Jack said. "We'll…just sit." He whispered to Daniel, "So, do we meditate, or what?"

"I suppose we just wait and see."

"Oh."

Further conversation was blocked since the elders began chanting. What bothered Daniel about that chanting was that it was unlike anything he'd ever heard, and that the words they were chanting included sounds that did not exist in Germanic or Scandinavian languages. In people descended from a Scandinavian culture that should not have been. Where had those alien sounds come from?

Suddenly, the chanting stopped, and it became deadly cold in the temple. Daniel and the rest of SG-1 realized that they could see everyone's breath, and it appeared as if hoarfrost was beginning to show on the walls, floor, and furniture. Slowly, though, it faded away and it became warmer. In fact, thousands of warm little breezes moved throughout the temple, ruffling hair and clothing. Carter, most of all, was surprised. How could there be wind inside?

"Our friends, the elves, have come," Alberich intoned. "They search our hearts and minds and pour down blessings upon those with most need."

"We thank the elves, our friends and guardians, for their kind gifts, and we gratefully accept," the village answered as one. "We pray that they shall continue to watch over us for all time."

Alberich turned to Daniel. "The elves are among us now. The warm breezes you feel are them being nearby. Do not be afraid."

"Oh, I'm not afraid," Jack said as one breeze ruffled his hair. "I'm just a little creeped out, that's all. Why was it cold earlier?"

"That was the wind from their coming," Alberich explained. "They must come a long way, so they take…a shortcut, if you will. That coldness is the result of that shortcut."

"Oh. Sounds like Gate travel," Jack said as a breeze made a pocket flap flap. "We used a shortcut to come here, too."

"Wonderful. Then you already know how they travel."

Silence fell then, and the breezes stopped. There was a very heavy feeling of…waiting… within the temple.

"What is happening?" Teal'c asked, concerned.

"The elves are conferring on who has the most need," Alberich said, smiling. "It will not take long, and they shall make their choice."

"How will we know when they're finished?" Jack asked.

Suddenly, a great rush of wind was heard, and it was clear from the way it blew clothing and hair that it was heading straight for the head table, the elders, and SG-1. Jack winced, expecting to be knocked over, but immediately all of his concerns were swept away as Daniel fell over backwards, unconscious. The wind was gone.

"What the hell?" Jack shouted, scrambling to get to Daniel. "Daniel? Daniel?" Worried, Jack tapped the archeologist's face. "Wake up!"

"It is all right," Alberich said, attempting to calm him. "The elves have merely decided to bestow their blessings upon him. He is not the only one, there are four others, and they are all sleeping, just as Daniel is. He and they will awake soon."

"He's right, sir, I can find nothing wrong with him," Carter said, completing a field examination.

"He's _unconscious_, Carter!"

"I meant aside from that!"

"Please, there is no reason to worry," another elder said. "He will be fine in a few moments, you'll see. The others are already beginning to wake."

It was true. The four inert bodies lying among the villagers suddenly began to stir and sit up, looking around them with smiles. At the same moment, Daniel began to move, his eyes blinking. At last, his eyes opened and he sat up, rubbing his head.

"Daniel? Are you okay?" Jack asked.

"Wow," he said, still rubbing his head, sounding very surprised. "Yeah, I'm…fine. What happened?"

"You fell over," Teal'c said calmly. "We were very concerned."

"Are you sure you're all right?" Carter asked, looking anxiously at her teammate.

"Yeah…I feel fine. A bit of a headache, though."

"That is simply a reaction from the elves' blessing," Alberich said, smiling kindly at all of them. "It will fade in time."

"Yeah, well, I'd feel better if we could get Frasier to look at him," Jack said. "Alberich, we're going to head home for a little bit, but don't worry, we'll be back."

"The elves say that it will be a few days before you return from the Stone Circle," Alberich said, nodding. "We will await your return, and we shall send a guide with you to lead you there in safety. We look forward to your return."

Space

General Hammond was very surprised when SG-1 returned ahead of schedule. Usually, they didn't do that without a very good reason, and when he saw an inert Daniel Jackson flung over Teal'c's shoulder, he realized what that reason was.

"What happened?" he demanded, heading into the Gate room while Walter called for a medical team.

"Ah, we were taking part in some kind of ceremony to make nice with the local villagers, and the next thing we knew, Daniel was unconscious. He's been passing out and waking up since then, but whenever he's awake, he says he feels fine. Just a little headache," O'Neill reported. "Aside from four villagers, Daniel was the only one it happened to. Our guide said that his passing out and waking up was normal and that he'll be fine by morning, but I didn't want to risk it."

By this time, the med team had brought a stretcher and Daniel was loaded onto it and wheeled away towards the infirmary, shortly followed by the General and SG-1. While nurses examined the rest of them, Daniel was given a complete physical by Frasier and an MRI and EEG.

"What have you got for us, Doctor?" the general asked as Frasier completed her exam.

"Well, it's very odd. Nothing showed up in exams except for the EEG. It shows a high incidence of delta waves even when Doctor Jackson is awake. Delta waves are normally seen when the subject is deeply asleep or very young. Since Daniel's an adult, the latter isn't likely, and these readings aren't normal. I don't know why they're occurring, but I'm sure they have something to do with why he keeps passing out. Unconsciousness and consciousness are happening in cycles every twenty minutes, and that isn't natural."

"Ya think?" Jack asked, pacing. "How long till morning?"

Space

It happened just as their guide had said. By the next morning, the passing out and waking up cycles had ended, and Daniel insisted he felt fine. Dr. Frasier had given him an all-clear, but Hammond said he would feel better if SG-1 stayed on the base for the next few days just in case.

Daniel was in his office working on a translation when his telephone rang.

"Hello?"

"Dr. Jackson, would you step up to the debriefing room, please? There's a little problem we would like your help with," the general said, sounding thoroughly mystified.

"On my way," Daniel assured him, wondering what it could be. What was it that General Hammond couldn't have a few SFs bring down? Perhaps it was a person?

He reached the debriefing room and found the rest of the SG-1 team there, staring at two people who were standing next to the general. Several security detail were there as well, keeping their eyes on the pair.

"What can I do for you, General?" Daniel asked politely as he entered. Then, he stopped and turned a dead white as he saw who the two people were that were standing with the General.

"These two…individuals were found on Level 22, Dr. Jackson, and they claimed to be looking for you. Major Carter has identified them as your parents."

Still staring, Daniel nodded.

"As we've been telling you for the last twenty minutes," the elder Dr. Jackson said. "Now, could you call off the watch?"

Dr. Ballard-Jackson was looking at Daniel with concern. "Danny? Sweetheart, are you okay?"

Daniel shook his head, still very white. "I don't feel so good…"

That was all he had time to say, for in the next second he fell to the floor in a dead faint.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Two hours later in the infirmary, Daniel woke up to see the concerned faces of General Hammond, SG-1, and Dr. Frasier staring down at him.

"Hey, Danny-boy," Jack said, noticing he was awake. "How ya feeling?"

Daniel blinked. "Like I just woke up from a nightmare. What happened?"

"You…passed out," Carter told him. "Daniel, was it like when you passed out at 554 or was it something different?"

Daniel shrugged. "Um…it was really just…being unconscious, I guess."

"Do you remember what happened just before you passed out?" Janet asked, checking Daniel's eyes with a pen light.

"General Hammond asked me to come up to the debriefing room, but after that I guess I passed out."

"Are you certain?" Teal'c asked, clearly worried.

"Yeah, why?" Daniel asked, mystified.

"Well, there were people in the room with us," General Hammond reminded him.

"Now, that's where it gets weird," Daniel said. "I guess I was dreaming, but I could have sworn that those two were my parents. Pretty stupid, huh?"

Everyone was very, very quiet.

"What, don't tell me that was…are you guys telling me that's who they _were_?" Daniel gasped, feeling the blood drain from his face. He had started to sit up, but Janet pushed him back against the pillow and kept a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"That's who they claim to be," she told him. "Don't worry, we've done blood tests and we're going to get to the bottom of this."

"But…" Daniel stopped, confused. "You said they were found on Level 22. Who did they say they were? I mean, exactly."

Hammond opened a file folder and examined it. "Intruders claimed to be Dr. Melburn Jackson and Dr. Claire Ballard-Jackson, the parents of Dr. Daniel Jackson. They were located on Level 22 and approached SF on duty and asked to be directed to Dr. Jackson's location. They stated that they had come to the base on a surprise visit and had gotten lost. Intruders turned over to security. Upon checking, it was found that the intruders had not been through security checkpoints."

"Where the heck did they come from?" Daniel asked after a moment of silence. "I mean, they look just like them…how could they get onto the base without going through the security checkpoints? Did they come through the Gate?"

Carter shook her head. "Gate's been quiet since we came back last night."

"What do we do?" Jack wanted to know. "I mean, do you…want to see them?"

Daniel looked at him and then looked away, seeming very troubled. "I don't know. Part of me does, part of me doesn't and part of me wants to demand who they are and how they get off pretending to be my parents."

No one said anything. Apparently, this was a difficult situation for Daniel. No one knew what to say or do. How often did someone's parents come back from the dead?

A nurse arrived with a printed sheet and handed it to Dr. Frasier, looking grave. She took it and read it before looking at Daniel, and then she handed it to General Hammond. "Impossible," was all he said.

"What?" Daniel said, worried. "Are those the results of the blood tests?"

"They are, and according to these, they are your parents, Daniel, but I can't think how that's possible," Janet said, handing the sheet to Daniel.

Daniel stared at it, and everything he saw on that sheet simply proved that the two people he'd seen in the debriefing room had been his parents. "I don't…know what to do," he said at last, still staring at the sheet. "I mean, how do I tell these people that…they were dead? How do I tell them that they're not supposed to be here and that it's nice to see them, but could they please go away? How do I tell them this?"

"I don't know," the General said, looking sympathetic. "Dr. Mackenzie's with them right now, talking to them to see if they pose any kind of a threat."

"What threat could they pose?" Carter asked, surprised.

"We're not taking any chances," Hammond said firmly. "We don't know what they're here for, and I don't want anything to happen."

"Do you think they might be assassins, General Hammond?" Teal'c asked. "If so, it could be their target is Daniel Jackson. After all, usually one does not expect one's parents to wish one harm."

"We're considering that possibility, Teal'c," Hammond told him, sounding troubled as Dr. Mackenzie walked in. "Dr. Mackenzie. Your report?"

"Well, they certainly believe that they're Melburn and Claire Jackson," he said, sitting down on a handy stool. "And they certainly believe that Daniel is their son, and they believe that they've just dropped by his workplace on a surprise visit, and they're both very concerned about Daniel and asked me to check on him. Also, they're demanding they be allowed to see him. They _are_ his parents, after all. These two people have no idea that they're supposed to be dead."

"Did you tell them about that?" Jack asked thoughtfully.

"They laughed at me, and Dr. Melburn asked me to stop trying to pull their legs."

Once again, everyone was quiet.

"What should we do?" General Hammond asked.

"Well, I think that for the time being we should play along," Dr. Mackenzie said. "In time, they may drop the act and tell us who they really are. Dr. Jackson, feel free to say no, but your part in this whole thing will be the most difficult. You'll have to be the son of two people who feel they are your parents. That means you'll have to accept their presence in your life as it is now."

"According to test results, they are Daniel's parents," Janet said, interrupting Mackenzie when she saw the distressed look on Daniel's face.

"That's not possible," Mackenzie said, looking shocked. "They have to be two people who only think they're his parents."

Jack took the results sheet and handed it to Dr. Mackenzie. "Read it and weep."

Dr. Mackenzie read the sheet once, twice, and then three times before heaving a large sigh and looking at Daniel. "Okay, we have a few choices. Daniel, we could have them taken to a secure treatment facility so my staff and I can try investigating them, or they could remain here and interact with you while we try to figure out how they came back from the dead. Do you feel up to making a decision right now, or should I come back later?"

Daniel looked worried, stressed, and very, very tired. "I don't see what good it will do if we stick them in a secure facility. I mean, what if they're really my parents somehow? I mean, we deal with quantum mirrors and wormholes and time travel, so somehow, it might be them. I'm willing to stick around and...see them. Spend time with them. Talk with them. Maybe we'll learn something."

"All right," Dr. Mackenzie said, giving Daniel's shoulder a sympathetic clap. "How soon would you feel up to seeing them?"

"Well, now, I guess," Daniel admitted and looked to Janet. "Could I have...visitors?"

All she did was motion to everyone else. "You already have them, but I want you to see them only if you feel up to it."

Daniel nodded, so General Hammond made the call down to security and asked that they be brought up. Five minutes later, Melburn and Claire Jackson entered the infirmary.

"Danny!" Melburn said, going straight to Daniel's side. "Are you okay, scout?" He took Daniel's hand and with his free hand he checked Daniel's forehead for fever.

"Hi, sweetheart," Claire said, taking his other hand and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Do you feel a little better? You know, you scared us pretty bad passing out like that, but I can see you've got a great medical team here." Despite what she'd said, she also put a hand on Daniel's face as if checking for a fever.

"I'm...fine," Daniel said, looking as if he felt he were trapped in an episode of the Twilight Zone. "Dr. Frasier said that I've been working a little too hard lately, that's all."

"You're just like your father," Claire said, smoothing Daniel's head.

"And how many times have I gone into the study to find you asleep over translations?" Melburn countered teasingly. "You're like both of us, Danny."

"Um...Mom...Dad, I'd like to introduce you to my teammates," Daniel said, struggling to regain his equilibrium. "This is Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, and Teal'c."

"Pleased to meet you," Melburn said, shaking everyone's hands one at a time. Then, his eyes focused on Teal'c's forehead. "Ah, that's very interesting. I've never seen...a tattoo...of Apophis quite like that before."

Wisely, Teal'c remained silent.

Daniel seemed at a loss after that. Everyone seemed a little creeped out. Fortunately, Janet came to his rescue. "Daniel, if you feel well enough, you and your parents can go to the commissary and get something to eat, or I can order you all something."

"No, that's fine," Daniel said. "I can show them around the base on the way, and Jack, Sam, Teal'c and I can keep you and Mom entertained, Dad." He looked at his friends, pleading with his eyes for them to come along and felt a great deal of relief when he saw all of them nod the slightest bit. Then, he looked down at the infirmary scrubs he was wearing. "Janet...just where did you put my clothes?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Daniel led the way to the commissary with a parent on either side of him. The rest of SG-1 followed close behind, keeping them company and ensuring that Daniel would not be stuck alone with them. It was clear that he wasn't ready for that situation at all.

"So, Daniel, it's been a while since we've seen you," Melburn said while they were in the elevator. "Tell me, what is it you've been working on lately?"

"Um, translations," Daniel admitted. "Just a few things."

"The Air Force needs translations done?" Claire said, confused.

"Just a few," Carter said, leaping to Daniel's defense. "Sometimes our field teams find things on missions, and we'd like to know what they are, so that's where Daniel and others like him come in."

"I see," Claire said at last after thinking about it. "And here your father and I thought you were simply working on some eccentric person's collection out here in Colorado!"

All Daniel did was shrug and give a little smile. "Well, most of the work I'm doing is still classified, so…"

"So you couldn't tell anyone, not even us," Melburn concluded. "Oh, well. If that's the way it is, then that's the way it is. You work in a team together?"

"Oh, yes," Daniel said, remembering. "Major Carter is our science officer, Colonel O'Neill is team leader, and Teal'c…" Daniel stopped, wondering just how to classify Teal'c.

"Teal'c's our protection and cultural liaison," Jack said quickly. "He's invaluable."

Melburn looked up at Teal'c, who looked down at him and worked hard at giving him a little smile.

"I see," was all that Melburn said.

Lunch that day was chicken and dumplings, Italian hoagie, and asparagus, as well as any dessert you cared to choose. Daniel took chicken and dumplings and a hoagie, but he didn't take any asparagus. As they sat down at an empty table, Daniel got the surprise of his life when Claire placed a small bowl full of asparagus on his tray.

"Um, what's this?" he asked, staring at the asparagus. He _hated_ asparagus!

"If you're exhausted from work, then you need to eat correctly in order to get your strength back up," Claire said, sitting down beside him. "That means vegetables, Danny."

"I don't like…asparagus," Daniel told her, eyeing the bowl with distaste.

"Like it or not, I agree with your mother," Melburn said, taking a sip of coffee. "Come on, a few bites and it's gone."

_If the situation with his parents coming back from the dead weren't so darn serious, I'd be enjoying this,_ Jack thought. _I'd say something like, Come on, Danny, be a good boy and eat your vegetables. Although, if I _did_ say that, he'd probably never speak to me again. There _are _limits to how much strain friendships can take._

Carter was eating her asparagus after sprinkling it with a little salt. "You know, with salt it kind of tastes like green beans," she said in an effort to help Daniel out. "Not bad."

After another two minutes of indecision, Daniel added some salt and gulped the asparagus down, making a face after he'd swallowed the last bit. "Blecch! That did _not_ taste like green beans, Sam!" he complained.

"I thought it did," she said, sounding apologetic.

"Well, it's gone now," Melburn pointed out. "I'm sure the chicken and dumplings will taste good after that."

They did, and they were in the middle of dessert when Claire left the table and returned with a glass full of orange juice and gave it to Daniel, saying that she remembered reading about all of the benefits it was said to contain. So, Daniel had orange juice with his chocolate walnut cookies. It was a very odd combination, and he wanted to _kick_ himself for saying that he had fainted due to overwork. He'd forgotten the way both of his parents could worry! He remembered when he'd had the chicken pox, and neither one of them had gone to work while he'd been sick. Even when he'd been on the mend they took him along on whatever they were doing and made certain he was getting plenty of rest and fluids. He was certain that they were going to suggest he take it easy for the rest of the day, perhaps even have another nap, but there were limits to what he would be willing to do. If they suggested he take it easy, he would say that he intended to. He would do translations on the couch in his office rather than at his desk.

After lunch, Melburn and Claire asked to see where Daniel worked. At that time, Jack, Sam, and Teal'c were called to the general's office for a meeting, and Daniel had a pretty good feeling what that meeting was about. Confident that General Hammond was making the usually-efficient wheels of the SGC turn, Daniel took Claire and Melburn to his workspace, confident that there would be plenty of things to occupy them with and keep them from asking too many questions about what he really did.

"So, this is my office," Daniel said, leading his parents into his office. "It's kind of cluttered, but it works. When I'm not in the field I'm usually in here working."

"And what kind of field work do you do?" Melburn asked, examining one of the many artifacts Daniel kept around.

"Uh, just the usual, really," Daniel temporized. "Digs, collecting, that sort of thing. Nothing too exciting."

"How often?" Claire asked.

"Um, every few weeks," Daniel admitted. "We're kind of like the first team to go in, we do preliminary work, and then another team shows up to take over. Listen, I was wondering. Just what made you guys drop in for a visit? I mean, you haven't done that before."

Melburn looked thoughtful. "Well, I guess it was because we haven't seen one another in a while," he said at last. "I mean, it's been how long?"

Daniel didn't say anything.

"Besides, we shouldn't have left you like we did, Danny," Claire said, laying a hand on Daniel's shoulder in a gesture of comfort. "I know we've been gone an awfully long time."

Daniel was surprised. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Gone?" Did they realize they were supposed to be dead?

"We shouldn't have left," Melburn said, echoing his wife's words. "It's taken us a long time to find you again, Danny, and we're not going to leave you ever again."

"What are you guys talking about?" Daniel asked, worried.

"After that accident at the museum, we left you," Claire explained. "You had to grow up with strangers."

Daniel, now beginning to be frightened, decided to come right out and say it. "You guys were killed. That's why you've been gone so long."

"We know. We know that accident is why we left, even though we didn't want to," Melburn said, placing a hand on Daniel's other shoulder. "We know what happened."

"Well, you guys are _dead_," Daniel persisted. "Dead means that you're not supposed to be here. How is it that you're here?"

"No more questions," Claire whispered, her hand on Daniel's shoulder growing warm. "Do not remember. Accept."

At that moment, before Daniel could pull away, an odd feeling filled his mind. Calm and lassitude swirled through him, easing his fears and worries and leaving him relaxed. It was as if...what was going on? What...? He looked around, and he saw the two people who--according to DNA tests--were his parents. They were both smiling at him, expectant. "Were...were you saying something?"

"We asked you if you had any vacation time coming," Melburn said. "Your mom and I would like to spend it with you--if that's okay."

"That would be..." he stopped, some vague feeling that something was wrong made him stop. What was going on?

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Claire asked, placing a hand on his shoulder, her hand warm.

Calmness flooded once more through Daniel, and he remembered what he was going to say. "Yeah, I'm fine. I've got vacation in another month, and spending it together..." He hesitated, not even sure if they were going to be here in another month, but in the next moment his uncertainty vanished. "That would be great."

Both of them smiled, and Daniel decided to show them his latest project: translating an ancient Egyptian scroll that mentioned glowing-eyed gods.

Space

"What do you think, Dr. Jackson?" General Hammond asked later during a quick meeting with the archeologist in his office.

"Well, they believe they're my parents, they act like my parents, and they treat me like I'm their son," Daniel said, glad that Jack had shown up and offered to show the "folks" around the rest of the base by way of a diversion. "There has been nothing threatening or alien in their behavior, and...I feel...safe...with them. I don't know how to explain it, but I don't feel safe with them because they're like my parents. It's like...these two people could never hurt me in any way."

"Well, security has reported nothing strange on any of the cameras, and no one else has noticed anything strange, either," General Hammond admitted. "I think the whole thing that bothers me is these two people are claiming to be two people who died years ago."

"That creeps me out, too," Daniel said, looking thoughtful. "It kinda creeps me out a lot, but I've been thinking for a while about this. You read our reports on our latest trip, right? The carvings on the temple door on the planet said that the elves would give blessings to those who needed them. According to the headman, Alberich, I was chosen to receive a blessing. What if those 'elves' were actually some kind of alien beings capable of doing things like...this?"

"That makes sense," General Hammond said, still feeling uneasy and worried about the archeologist. "I think we'll have to look into this. In the meantime, please stay on the base and talk to these people and try to find out a little more about them."

"That's a little hard," Daniel pointed out. "I mean, they think they're my parents. They're not going to have any idea what I'm talking about when I mention aliens and other planets."

"Just try your best," General Hammond asked. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

Space

Daniel left the shower, dried off, pulled on his pajamas and headed into his quarters for bed. His "parents" were staying in a guest quarters nearby, and he was glad that they'd decided to turn in early after wishing him goodnight. There was only so much company he could take from people who'd died before his eyes. He crawled into bed and was settling into his pillows with a sigh when he realized that he wasn't alone. With a yelp he shot to his feet, his heart pounding.

"Easy, Danny," Melburn said, chuckling, a little amused. "Didn't mean to scare you, scout."

"I thought you guys had gone to bed," Daniel gasped, sitting down on the edge of his bed, waiting for his heartbeat to return to normal.

"Well, we wanted to see you all nice and settled first," Claire told him, giving him a kiss on his forehead. "It's been a long day."

Daniel felt that that was the understatement of the universe.

"Okay, kiddo, into bed you go," Melburn said, gently nudging Daniel back into bed while Claire covered him up. "We'll see you in the morning, Danny."

"Um...okay," Daniel said, feeling completely weirded out. Here he was, a fully-grown man, and he was being tucked into bed by his parents. That was just...odd. Odd, Daniel reflected, but as he felt his mother smoothing the covers over him and his father kiss his temple, he felt that it was worth the oddness. He didn't feel them move away as his eyes closed, but they stayed close by. His mother was singing an Egyptian lullaby just as she used to, and his father was singing the descant, just as he used to. Most people wouldn't think of fathers singing a lullaby, but Daniel always remembered both of his parents singing to him. This was...nice. For a moment, just before he fell asleep, he let himself pretend that nothing bad had ever happened and that he was safe in his room at home. Then, he slipped into dreams of being safe and loved and protected by two powerful beings who were his parents.

Space

Jack wandered into the commissary the next morning, his head hurting and not in a fit state for man or beast until he had some coffee. He located that miraculous brew, poured himself a large cup, and started to search for a place to sit. Until he woke up, he wasn't even going to think about food or anything else.

Talking woke him out of his early-morning stupor. Who could sound that awake at this hour of the morning and not be aware that it was unforgiveably rude? Looking around, he spotted Daniel and his...parents...at a nearby table. They were talking and laughing and having a ball...at oh-seven-hundred in the morning. That was wrong on so many levels, and he couldn't even begin to say which ones. What were they so darn chipper for? Didn't they know that was against the law at seven in the morning?

"Morning, campers," he croaked, heading over. He noticed Daniel no longer looked as scared as he had the day before. An improvement?

"Morning, Colonel," Claire said, giving him a smile.

"Let me guess," Jack said as he sat down at Melburn's invitation. "You're morning people."

"How could you guess?" Claire laughed.

"Well, Daniel's usually pretty awake, it follows that he had to get it from somewhere."

Melburn laughed at that. "Yeah, we were always getting up early for digs and things, so I guess it's become a life-long habit for us. You can't be half-asleep when you're digging."

"Well, _you_ can't," Jack pointed out. "_I _can be, though. How is it possible you have this much energy?"

That made all three of them laugh, and Jack decided that yes, he _had_ wandered into the Twilight Zone that morning. He'd have to talk to Daniel about his change in behavior. The night before he'd been scared out of his mind by these people, and this morning he was laughing and joking with them. That _wasn't_ normal. It was kind of freaky, actually. What had happened to make him change like that?

"Um, Daniel, you remember that meeting we have at oh seven thirty, don't you?"

"Meeting?" Daniel seemed confused, which was no wonder since there wasn't really a meeting. Jack just wanted to get a chance to talk to him alone.

"Yeah, with General Hammond? Remember?" Jack raised an eyebrow, putting a lot of emphasis on 'remember.'

"Oh...yeah," Daniel said, looking at his watch. "We've gotta be there in a few minutes. Mom, Dad, will you be all right here?"

"Sure, Danny," Claire assured him. "We'll wait here for you, and Lieutenant Michaels can keep us entertained."

Jack knew that the elder Dr. Jacksons thought that Lieutenant Michaels was their liaison--the person civilians went to if they needed help while on base--but in reality he was their security detail. Hammond was taking no chances on Daniel's or the base's safety while those two were around. They seemed harmless, but appearances had a nasty habit of being deceiving.

"So, what meeting?" Daniel asked once they were in the hallway. "I take it you wanted to talk to me alone?"

"Yeah," Jack said, more than worried. "Daniel, what the heck's going on? Yesterday you were scared to death of the pair of them and today you're all hunky-dory! That's not normal."

"I feel fine," Daniel told him, not understanding what he was implying.

"That's the problem," Jack persisted. "Yesterday you were a nervous wreck. You don't go from being scared out of your mind to peachy-keen overnight. What happened? Did something happen? Have they brainwashed you? What?"

"No, I don't remember anything like that happening," Daniel told him, a little surprised by Jack's impatience.

"Well, what _did_ happen?" Jack demanded. "Tell me everything that happened after General Hammond and I left you last evening."

"Well, we had dinner in the commissary, and after dinner we went to my office and chatted. Mostly about me as a little kid, really. Reliving old times. Then, Lieutenant Michaels arrived and he and I showed them to their quarters and we said good night. I went to my quarters, had a shower, and I went to bed," Daniel finished. "That's it. This morning we were supposed to meet for breakfast, and that was what we were doing until you arrived."

"That's it?"

"That's it," Daniel assured him. "I think I would know if something weird had happened, don't you?"

"That's just it, if they didn't want you to remember..."

"Jack, there has been nothing going on," Daniel told him a little impatiently. "_Nothing_. They're perfectly...normal."

"Yeah, normal after being back from the dead?" Jack pointed out. "Daniel, keep your guard up, okay? I know that they're just like your folks and that you like them because of that, but remember that they're supposedly your parents back from the dead and that we don't know where they really came from or who they really are."

"I'll be careful, Jack," Daniel promised. "Should we go see General Hammond and report?"

"Yeah, I guess we should," Jack said. "You should make your report to him about how they and you passed the night."

"All righty, let's go," Daniel said, leading the way. "By the way, what do you call that hairstyle?" Jack had walked into the commissary with awful hair and it was clear it had not seen a comb that morning.

"It's called 'before I've had my coffee.' What did you think it was?"

Space

Daniel had finished his report and groaned a little when General Hammond passed along a message from Dr. Frasier. He was asked to report to the infirmary for a follow-up exam. "She wanted you to come as soon as you were done here, Dr. Jackson," he said, smiling the slightest bit at the archeologist's reluctance. "She's promised it won't hurt."

"All right, I'd better get down there before she comes looking for me," Daniel said, getting out of his chair. "Sir, could you page Lieutenant Michaels and ask him to escort my parents to my office, please? They can wait for me there."

"I'll take care of it right now," the general promised him. Daniel thanked him once again and headed to the infirmary, whistling.

"General, there's something going on," Jack said once Daniel was out of earshot. "There's something very wrong with Daniel and I think it has to do with those two...clones of his parents."

"I was about to ask you if you'd noticed anything strange," General Hammond said, sitting down behind his desk. "What have you noticed that's wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Jack admitted. "Yesterday, he didn't want to be alone with them, and today he's perfectly fine. He doesn't seem bothered that these two people are his parents who seem to have come back from the dead. It's like someone gave him a shot of happy-don't-worry juice. That's the only way I can think to explain it."

"I agree with you. Colonel, would you and the rest of SG-1 be willing to head back to that planet and take another look around? None of this started happening until you came back from there."

"Daniel's staying here, I take it?"

"I'd prefer to have Dr. Jackson and those two here where they can have several eyes kept on them at all times," General Hammond explained. "We still don't know what's going on with these two people who are claiming to be his parents."

"Well, biologically they seem to be," Jack reminded him. "The only problem is that it's impossible."

"Exactly. You get the rest of SG-1 together, and I'll call Lieutenant Michaels. Be careful, Colonel. Don't you come back with your parents."

"Don't worry, sir. I won't."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"I do not understand why you are so concerned," Alberich said for the tenth time that morning. "It is a blessing; not a curse!"

"Someone's parents coming back from the dead is not normal, Alberich," Jack persisted as they walked through the village with the elder. "You know, where we're from, we tend to worry about things like that."

"Daniel saw his parents die when he was only eight years old, and now they're back," Sam said, trying to clarify what the problem was.

"How wonderful!" Alberich cried, beaming. "What does Daniel think?"

"Well, he's a little worried," Jack interrupted, feeling ready to bash the elderly man over the head for being just plain annoying. "We're all a little worried. Now, you say this is a blessing. How is it a blessing?"

"Does he not have his parents back?" Alberich pointed out.

"That's not the point!" Jack groaned, bringing his hand up to his forehead in an exasperated smack. "The point is that people aren't supposed to come back from the dead! They didn't show up until after Daniel passed out at your little party, and we want to know why that is!"

"The elves bestowed a blessing upon him," Alberich said patiently, as if explaining the matter to a tiny child.

"Is it possible to speak face-to-face with these elves?" Teal'c asked, forestalling O'Neill's attempt to grab his gun so he could shoot Alberich.

"Of course," Alberich said brightly. "Speak, and they will hear you."

"Could we…maybe go someplace where we can _see_ them as well?" Sam said as patiently as she could.

Alberich stopped, as if listening to something that only he could hear. "Yes," he said, sounding surprised. "They have heard your requests, and they wish me to take you to the caves. Once there, they will speak with you."

"Now we're talkin'" Jack said, relieved. "Can we go now?"

Space

It was a few hours' walk to the caves, but they got there with no problem. While they walked, Alberich told them stories of the other four who had been chosen to receive blessings. One young man's weak eyes were strengthened, a young woman was finally pregnant after several years of waiting, an older woman's painful arthritis was healed, and a child's fits had been eased. When asked, Alberich told them about the caves. They were the places that the people could retreat to in times of dire need, and if someone desperately needed something in between communion times, then they could travel to the caves and ask for it. Sometimes they received it, sometimes not, and sometimes it was a while before they got what they asked for.

"Did any of these people asking special blessings see the elves?" Sam asked, intrigued.

"Some have," Alberich admitted. "Most haven't. I think that only when the need is very dire do we ever see the elves."

"Such as?" Teal'c prompted.

"Well, there was a story my grandmother told us of when she was small. There was a terrible flood in the valley where she lived, so they retreated to the caves. Many among them needed the help of the elves, but before anyone could ask for it, they were there doing what was needed of them. They healed the hurt and sick, made the caves warm and comfortable, and brought food and water. After the flood waters retreated and the people were able to return home, the elves disappeared, and my grandmother said that they had done that since they were sure they were no longer needed."

"Wow," Jack said, too surprised to say more than that. "So, have these elves ever hurt anyone?"

Alberich turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, what if someone was guilty of a very violent crime?" Jack said quickly, thinking of an example. "Would they punish that person?"

"There would be punishment," Alberich assured him, sounding thoughtful. "But it is very rare that such punishment is needed."

"And how is such a person punished?" Jack continued, intensely curious.

"He or she is removed from the community for the safety of everyone else, but very few who have undergone punishment ever wish to speak of it once they return. What little they told had to do with being treated kindly, yet firmly, and having their minds…opened…by the elves. They would never explain what they meant by that, but the elves always assured the other people that they were no longer dangerous and could be trusted. Indeed, that was always the case."

No one of SG-1 knew what to make of that. Instead of debating it, each person tucked it away for further discussion in private and asked other questions. What did the elves look like? (The description seemed to come right out of Tolkein.) Did they live in the caves? (No one was sure, but that was where they were most often found.) Were they ever seen down in the village? (Not that Alberich could remember.) Were there any cruel elves? (At that question Alberich had looked so completely shocked that they thought it better not to continue with that line of questioning.) Did the elves eat, drink, or sleep? (Alberich didn't know.) Had they ever made mistakes? (Alberich said that in all of his life, he'd never heard of an elf making a mistake, and it was clear that he doubted it was possible.)

By that time, they'd reached the caves, and Alberich led the way in. The first thing that they noticed was that there were torches burning in holders on the walls. "In preparation for our arrival," Alberich explained. "They know we cannot see in the dark."

"Can they?" Sam wondered aloud.

"You will have to ask," Alberich told her as he led them along the passageway. "I'm sure they will answer you."

"Indeed," Teal'c said, looking about the caves with his usual calm.

From what any of them could tell, Alberich was leading them down through a tunnel that was sure to lead to a larger room. Almost after they had come to that realization, they were there, staring around a large cavern that echoed, but was also strangely warm. It was also large enough to hold the entire village twice over comfortably.

Jack whistled, his eyes widening at the echo. "Whoa. Sure is big."

A gust of cool wind and Alberich's gasp and sudden bow alerted them to the elves' arrival. Turning, SG-1 saw three people who looked like figments of Tolkein's imagination. A man stood on either side of the lone woman, and their outfits were simple but elegant. With their light blond coloring, the sapphire and emerald shades that they wore suited them perfectly and made them that much more breathtaking.

_Elder Alberich, we thank you for bringing the strangers to us,_ the woman said in a voice that was so beautiful that Jack was certain he'd go crazy from hearing it.

"It is an honor, my lady," Alberich said, bowing again. "May I present Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter, and the warrior Teal'c."

All three elves bowed their heads in unison before regarding the three off-worlders. _You are welcome, strangers,_ the woman said again. _I am Alys. What is it you wished to ask?_

"Well, there's a little matter of a blessing you gave to a friend of ours," Jack began, wondering just how this woman was speaking to him when he never saw her mouth move.

_The one called Daniel,_ said one of the men.

"Yeah, him," Jack affirmed, surprised. "Well, you see, his parents kind of came back from the dead. They died when he was eight years old—he saw it happen, in fact—but now they're back, wandering around the base, and it's creeping us all out a bit, not to mention scaring the hell out of Daniel. People aren't supposed to come back from the dead."

_Your stories hold mention of people returning from the dead,_ the other man said, gently correcting him. _You yourself are familiar with many, and Daniel knew many more. Why should it be so strange to you now?_

"Well, it happens in stories, not in real life," Sam pointed out. "Besides, he saw his parents die, and now he sees people every day that he knows are dead. How can they be who they say they are? Who are they, really?"

_We cannot create people who no longer have physical bodies,_ Alys said gently, as if saddened by that fact.

"No, but I feel you know something of this matter that you are not telling us," Teal'c said, sounding very worried. "What are you? How have you done this thing for Daniel Jackson?"

_We gave him a blessing,_ Alys said, sounding for all the world like Alberich.

"You see, it's not such a blessing. That's what we're trying to tell you," Jack interrupted.

_We had a feeling that you would not understand the blessing we gave to Daniel, but please understand this: Only the person who receives the blessing can ask for it to be taken away. Daniel is not here and he is not asking for it to be taken back, so it will remain,_ Alys said firmly, looking regretful but at the same time, determined. She was sorry that they were worried, but she was not going to encroach on Daniel's right to decide.

"Well, all right, we can understand that," Jack said, sounding as if he were perfectly fine with that. "Now, could you answer a few more questions for us?"

At the least, they looked surprised and just a bit wary. _Such as?_

"We're explorers, and we'd like to know a bit more about you and this planet. We were asking Alberich tons of questions about you and he answered them as best he could, but we'd also like to hear your answers," Sam said, sounding just like Daniel. In a pinch, she could act as a culture buff as well.

Alys seemed to relax. _Ask what you will, and we will answer, but there are some questions that will not receive full answers. It is not always necessary for you to know everything at the moment you ask._

It seemed they had to be content with that.


	5. Chapter 5

Parents Chapter 5

Jack stormed down the ramp into the Gate room, looking ready to kill something. Sam followed with a similar expression on her face, and Teal'c brought up the rear.

"Welcome back, SG-1," the General said, standing at the bottom of the ramp. "How did it go?"

"Not well," Jack muttered, looking ticked. "We heard a lot of stories about the…elves…of 554, but we didn't learn all that much. Just how they're always ready to give blessings if they're needed, things like that."

"What did they tell you about Dr. Jackson's situation?"

"It's a blessing," Sam said, sounding hot and bothered. "They told us that it will only be removed if Daniel asked, and not before. We asked how they made it happen. They said that Those Who Live Above gave them the power to do it."

General Hammond looked at her, surprised. "What?"

"It is complicated, General Hammond," Teal'c told him.

"All right, standard arrival procedure, and then we meet in the debriefing room to talk this whole thing out."

"We're gonna need about five years to talk it out, then," Jack grumbled, still very unhappy. "Then I think I'm gonna go elf-hunting."

A short visit to the infirmary and locker room and SG-1 was ready to debrief. They gathered around the table while General Hammond updated them on Daniel and his parents.

"They seem to be normal people, and Dr. Jackson is completely at ease with them. I don't know how good or bad that is, but Doctors Frasier and Mackenzie are concerned about that," he said, taking his seat at the head of the table. "So, what can you tell me?"

"Well, the first thing they told us was that we didn't need to know everything right away," Jack began. "Very annoying. Then, they invited us to ask questions."

"And what did you ask?" Hammond wanted to know.

"We asked how they did it and why, and that was when they gave us that crap about Those Who Live Above," Jack continued.

"That's right," Sam affirmed, sounding tired. "From what we could make out, they are a group of people…beings…living on 554, and it's their sacred trust from Those Who Live Above to watch over and help the people of 554 and anyone who might be in need that they encounter."

"Which did not answer our first query: How did they bestow the blessings upon people?" Teal'c explained. "Once we realized that, we asked again. They said that it was Those Who Live Above who gave them the ability to bestow blessings."

"We asked what process they used," Sam added. "You know, just how they made these miracles happen. They were very vague about that."

"They were more than vague," Jack said, still sounding ticked. "They just wouldn't tell us anything beyond 'Those Who Live Above help us to know what to do.' That was all they would say about that. Zip. Nada. They kept coming back to Those Who Live Above. If we wanted to know how they resurrected two people who have been dead for years and years, then they would come back to them. Finally, we asked where they were and what they were like, and all of that."

"They described gods," Teal'c explained as Jack fell silent. "They said that they were powerful beings who lived in the stars above the planet and watched over all of them and all of creation. These beings helped them bestow blessings by giving them the power to do so and by pointing out which person's need was greatest. Also, it was from these beings that they received the trust to protect and help all of those on 554."

"Which means we've learned absolutely zilch, sir," Jack finished up, leaning his head on his hands. "Bupkis. Nothing. A waste of time."

Sam was looking thoughtful. "I don't know, sir. I keep getting the feeling that they said something that was important but we missed it, somehow."

That caught the General's attention. "Such as?"

Carter shrugged. "I can't remember. Something about people coming back from the dead…"

Jack sat back up. "The stories. The stories about people coming back from the dead. We told them that such a thing didn't happen in real life, but they told us that we had stories about that happening. They said that I knew a few and that Daniel knew many more. How would they know what he knew about that?"

"Could they have been mind readers? Empathic beings? It wouldn't be the first time we encountered a race with those abilities," Sam said, sounding excited.

"It would not," Teal'c agreed.

"So, do we confront the two masquerading as Daniel's parents with what we know, or do we wait?" Jack asked.

"Perhaps…we should test their abilities," General Hammond said, looking and sounding thoughtful. "We still don't know just what they are. Are they two of the…elves…in disguise or were they created by the elves? We can't tell what they can do, either. I think we should begin testing them."

"Test them how, sir?" Jack wondered aloud.

"Well, it's apparent that they're drawn to Dr. Jackson. They seem to believe that they are his parents and that he is their son. Let's see how well they take being separated from him."

"What are you thinking, sir?" Sam asked, sounding as if she had an idea of where he was going with this.

"Let's have Dr. Jackson spend the night off-base," he said, sounding more sure of himself. "At his apartment in town. We'll see what they do, and in the morning we'll see how they are. Then, perhaps we could send him off-world for a few days on a small mission. SG-9 are busy with some ruins off-world, and one of them mentioned to me that Dr. Jackson would love the ruins and the script they're covered with. We'll see how well they take to Dr. Jackson being away for a few days, instead of just a night."

"Do you think they may become uncooperative or possessive, General Hammond?" Teal'c said, as if to make sure he understood.

"I'm thinking that that may be the case," he assured all of them. "Perhaps if they become upset, they'll make a mistake and reveal just who or what they are."

"And if we confront them with that mistake…" Sam said, smiling.

"They'll have to own up." Jack grinned, elated. "Great! Ooh, I can't wait!"

"Let's just pray that this will work like I'm hoping," Hammond said, rising from his chair. "Dismissed, everyone. I'll call Dr. Jackson to my office."

Space

Daniel accepted General Hammond's orders to spend the night off-base, but he said that he didn't think his parents would do anything weird just because they were separated for a night.

"Dr. Jackson, I'm very concerned about this situation," General Hammond said, ready to explain. "When they first arrived, you couldn't refer to them as your parents without pausing first to consider the words you were about to say. Now it seems as if you've accepted that they are who they say they are. That isn't normal, and it isn't healthy." He held up a hand to forestall what Daniel was about to say. "I know that DNA tests say that they're your parents, but there are many ways that they could have made those tests say what they wanted them to say. Don't ask me how, I'm not sure yet, but we've seen other alien races able to influence technology. Also, may I remind you that you saw them die when you were a child? You are sure of what happened, aren't you?"

"Yes," Daniel admitted. "I'm sure. They were dead."

"Then why are you so eager to believe that they are who they say they are?"

"I believe I can answer that," Dr. Frasier said as she appeared in the doorway. "Sorry, sir, I couldn't help overhearing what you were saying, but I think I've found an answer to that."

"Let's hear it," General Hammond said, waving her toward a chair.

Janet sank into it, grateful to be off her feet for a few minutes. "I've found some traces of a benzodiazepine drug in your blood work from this morning, Daniel. It's similar to those we have here on Earth, but apparently its effects are minor."

"Someone's been giving me drugs?" Daniel said, surprised. "How?"

"I'm still not sure," she admitted, looking first at the General and then at Daniel. "It could be airborne delivery, foodborne, or contact delivery. I'm not ruling anything out at the moment, but the possibilities are endless. No one else who has been to 554 has shown any sign of the same drug, nor has anyone else on base."

"Effects?" General Hammond asked, concerned.

"From what I can see, it's a drug that encourages not sleepiness, but cloudy-headedness. A feeling of…oh…the world around you not being quite as sharp as it should be. Like you're moving more slowly than you usually do. Isn't that what you said this morning, Daniel?"

"Yeah," Daniel agreed, looking the slightest bit concerned. "But why…would they do that?"

"To keep you from thinking too hard about their reappearance after their deaths years ago," Janet said, sounding very, very certain. "That's the only reason I can think of. Also, they might be trying to keep you from being worried about it."

"Any chance of side effects? Dependency?"

"It's very mild," she said, opening a folder and scanning a read-out sheet. "There shouldn't be any side effects other than being a little sleepy or a little less clear-minded as long as he doesn't receive a strong dose on a regular basis."

General Hammond nodded. "All right, then. Thank you, Doctor. Is there anything we should continue to watch for?"

"Growing sleepiness at first, but then we should watch for signs of withdrawal later. Shakiness, dizziness, and insomnia. Symptoms like that. Daniel, if you feel the slightest bit off, come and see me, all right?"

"All right," Daniel said, sounding worried and just a little bit contrite. "You know, I thought when I came in here that this whole situation wasn't that big a deal, but maybe it is. I mean, if they're…drugging me to keep me from thinking…" He stopped and appeared to be thinking. "I'll spend tonight off the base, sir, just like you asked. And…I'll keep my eyes open for anything that could be important, like side effects or…anything."

"It's not your fault, Daniel," Janet said, placing a supporting hand on his shoulder. "You haven't been able to think clearly at all for a while now. First of all, you had your parents coming back from the dead, and then you had this drug in your system. It's all right."

"And what if my not worrying about this had put the base in danger?" Daniel countered.

"You would still be free from blame for the same reasons," General Hammond assured him. "Be glad that you've woken up now to the situation, and not after something truly terrible had happened."

Daniel nodded, still looking unhappy.

"It's best you go tell them that you'll be spending tonight off the base, Dr. Jackson," the General said kindly. "We'll see you at oh-nine hundred tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, sir," Daniel said. "And thanks to you, too, Janet."

"No problem, Daniel. See you tomorrow."

Space

Daniel felt as if he could kick himself from the Earth to Abydos for being so blind and stupid! This situation had happened after visiting an alien planet, and such a situation required you to keep your guard up! What had happened? He'd been acting completely oblivious to any danger and putting the entire planet at risk!

_Stupidity, Daniel,_ he thought as he headed towards his office. _That's what gets people into trouble. That's what gets people killed._

"Danny!" his mother said as he reached his office and set a few folders down on his desk. "You've been gone for a while."

"Oh, I had a meeting," he said, shrugging it off. "Nothing big. You guys weren't too bored?"

"Not at all," his father assured him. "Your mother's been rearranging your shelves, and I've been watching her."

"My shelves?" Daniel said, glancing at them quickly. "How am I supposed to find anything?"

"Well, it will be easy now. All of your books are alphabetized," Claire said, putting an arm around his shoulders.

Daniel looked around bleakly. "Like I said. How am I supposed to find anything?"

Melburn laughed as Daniel moved away from Claire and began packing a leather tote. They watched him for a few minutes before she asked him what he was doing.

"Oh, there are a few things I have to take care of off-base, and it will take me until later tonight. I planned on crashing at my apartment tonight and then coming back in the morning. The General's already told me that he'll be happy to have the two of you stay here since my apartment doesn't really have space for guests."

They both stared at him. "Are…are you sure?" Claire asked.

"Yes, Mom, I'm sure," Daniel assured her. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. We'll have breakfast together in the morning, I promise."

"If you say so," Melburn said. "Just be careful, okay, Danny?"

"What, don't talk to strangers? I won't, Dad."

Daniel thought that he would have a lot more trouble getting away than that. After walking them both to their quarters and wishing them a good night, Daniel left the base and headed home. Once there, he pulled the project he wanted to work on out of his tote and began putting together a small supper for himself. He worked, ate, worked some more, and watched a little television before hitting the sack.

The next morning he woke around seven. He stretched, feeling much better than he had for the last few days. He wondered if it was because he was away from his 'parents,' but then decided that he didn't care. He was feeling too good to worry this morning. He hopped into the shower and sluiced himself off, and while he was getting dressed he realized that something…wasn't quite right. Why was he smelling coffee? He knew for certain that he hadn't made any yet that morning.

He went out into the kitchen, wondering where the smell was coming from. When he spotted who was in his kitchen, he was certain that he was going to lose his mind.

"Morning, scout," Melburn said, stirring some scrambled eggs around in a pan. "How'd you sleep?"

"Just fine," Daniel said, staring. "How did you two get here? I thought you were staying on the base."

"Well, we decided to come and surprise you," Claire said, pouring some coffee into a mug and handing it to him. "We're making you a proper big breakfast, Danny."

Daniel stared at all of the food on the table in front of him. There were huge slices of ham, croissants, waffles, the scrambled eggs Melburn was making, sliced fruit, coffee, and orange juice. Amazing.

The phone rang, making Daniel jump. Quickly, he put down his coffee and grabbed for the phone, feeling relief course through him when he heard the General's voice.

"Doctor Jackson, this is General Hammond. We cannot locate your…parents anywhere on base."

"I know, sir," he said, looking at his parents. His mother was getting jelly and butter out of the fridge while his father was scooping the cooked eggs into a bowl for the table. "They're here."

"_They are? What are they doing there? Did they say how they got there?"_

"Yes, they're fixing me breakfast, and I don't think so. I asked, though."

"_They're fixing you breakfast?"_

"Yes, sir. A proper big one. Jack isn't here yet."

General Hammond took the cue. "_You want me to have Colonel O'Neill stop by? All right, I'll call him after I hang up with you. Anything going on we should be concerned about?"_

"Not that I can see," Daniel reassured him. "Well, other than a growling stomach."

The General laughed. _"Okay, Dr. Jackson. I'll see you when you get here. Make sure you bring them both back."_

"Okay. Thanks, sir."

When asked, Daniel told the both of them that it had been General Hammond, asking if they were there with him. Lieutenant Michaels had been astounded when he realized they were gone that morning. Both of them found that very amusing, but they said that they hoped that Lieutenant Michaels wasn't in trouble. Daniel assured them both that no, just very amazed that they'd disappeared, and he wanted to know if they were related to Houdini. Jack arrived not long after that, saying that since it was his turn to pick Daniel up for work, he at least deserved some coffee. Neither man could wait to get back to the base and start trying to figure out how those two had left the base and gotten all the way into town and had found Daniel's apartment.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Daniel and Jack took Claire and Melburn back to the base with them, and during the drive Jack asked them just how they had left the base without being seen and how they had made it to Daniel's apartment.

"Oh, we just walked out," Claire said, smiling. "How else would we leave?"

"But you've got security checkpoints and all of those to go through," Jack reminded them. "Surely someone would have spotted you."

"I guess no one noticed us," Melburn said. "And her name is Claire, not Shirley."

Daniel groaned at his 'father's' joke. "Oh, that is so old. Come on!"

"I try," Melburn said, reaching over the headrest on Daniel's seat to ruffle his hair. "I just love to embarrass you, scout."

"It's working," Daniel said, taking a sip of coffee from his travel mug. "That still doesn't answer how you got into town and found my apartment."

"Well, you told us last night how to get there when we asked where it was," Claire told him. "Don't you remember?"

Daniel and Jack exchanged looks. "I guess I don't," Daniel said quietly. He really didn't, and he _knew_ that he hadn't told them! "Okay, you knew where my apartment was, but how did you get to town? I don't remember you two coming with a car."

Claire and Melburn exchanged looks much as Jack and Daniel had, but they didn't answer. Both men decided to let the question drop for the time being.

When they arrived at the base, an SF met them at the entrance, informing Dr. Jackson that General Hammond wished to see him and his parents in his office as soon as possible. Sighing, Daniel led the way while Melburn asked what the general wanted to see them for.

"Well, he probably wants to know how you two left the base without being seen," Daniel told them. "We've got very tight security here, and any way out that we don't know about could spell trouble for us later."

"But we told you how we got out," Melburn protested.

"You'll have to tell General Hammond, too," Daniel said as they reached the office.

"Good morning," General Hammond said, looking very unhappy with the two elder Doctors Jackson. "Dr. Jackson, Dr. Frasier asked me to send you down to the infirmary as soon as you reported to me. I'll send your parents down to meet you there as soon as we're done."

Daniel nodded and left, leaving the three of them alone. Hammond turned to the two and regarded them grimly. "How did you two make it out of this base without being spotted by a single member of security?"

Melburn gave a very Daniel-like shrug. "We just walked out and took the elevator up to the surface. The two men at the final security checkpoint didn't even look at us. Were we supposed to…sign-out or something?"

"You were not to leave this base at all," General Hammond told him. "Doing so opened this whole facility to a national security risk."

"I don't see how," Melburn commented. "We were just going to see our son."

"How did you get to town and find out where Dr. Jackson lived?" General Hammond persisted.

"Well, Daniel did tell us where his apartment was," Claire explained.

"And how did you get to town? The distance is greater than what can be walked in a night."

"_Unscheduled off-world activation,"_ the alarm system said as sirens began to blare. _"Unscheduled off-world activation."_

General Hammond stopped himself from swearing and called in two airmen. "Stay in this room with those two," he ordered. "They're not to go anywhere. I'll be back in a moment."

Fifteen minutes later, after learning that the computer had had a glitch and activated the alarms on its own (and telling Walter to figure out how it happened and report his findings as soon as he did) General Hammond returned to his office to find two airmen standing guard over two empty chairs.

"Airman!" the general barked in surprise. "Where are they?"

Both young men stared at him with just as much surprise. "They're right there, sir."

"Look again," General Hammond told him. "Carefully."

Both men did, and at the same time their mouths dropped open. "How…? How—where did they go? We were standing right here the whole time! How did they _do_ that?"

"I'd dearly love to know," the general said, picking up his phone and dialing the infirmary.

Space

"Well, there's a little more of the drug in your system," Dr. Frasier said, checking Daniel's eyes with a penlight. "How do you feel?"

"I felt okay when I woke up this morning, but now I feel kind of out of it. You know, like I haven't had enough sleep or not enough coffee or I need a nap. That kind of feeling."

"Hmm," Janet said, jotting Daniel's comment down on her clipboard as Melburn and Claire walked in.

"Hey, scout," Melburn said, putting an arm around Daniel while Claire gave her 'son' a kiss on the cheek. "How is he, doc?"

"He's a little run down," Dr. Frasier said guardedly, watching the two parents carefully. "I think he needs to stay here and rest a bit more rather than going up to his office like he was planning."

"I'll get bored," Daniel complained, flopping back on the gurney. "Just like I always do. Do I have to wear scrubs?"

"No, you don't, and you know very well you can read something," Janet said firmly. "I would prefer you to be here where we can keep an eye on you."

"If it was absolutely necessary for Daniel to go to his office, we could watch him," Claire offered.

"But it's not necessary," Dr. Frasier said, sounding every inch the Determined Doctor. "So he's staying here."

"Can't argue with that, can we?" Melburn said, settling into a chair by Daniel's bed. "We'll sit with him."

"Actually, I've noticed that patients tend to rest better without guests around," Dr. Frasier said, taking note of their reactions as her words sunk in.

"You mean we can't even sit with our own son?" Melburn demanded.

"We wouldn't bother him, and he would get plenty of rest," Claire pleaded.

"I'll be fine," Daniel said, fighting a very sleepy feeling. "I'm about asleep."

Janet hurried to check him, and just as quickly she took another blood sample. Daniel muttered something about medical officers and vampires as he fell asleep. Dr. Frasier handed the blood sample to an orderly with orders to get it analyzed stat, and then she turned to Melburn and Claire.

"Since you're both here, I'd like to ask you a few questions anyway," she said, leading them into her office.

"Questions?" Claire said, sinking into a proffered chair beside her husband.

"About Daniel's medical history. I know about the allergies and a few other things, but how was his health when he was very young? His medical records from that time are very scant on information." Actually, according to standard medical file practice, his medical history was as complete as it could be, but she wanted to learn how much they knew about Daniel as a little kid. She was thinking about Sam's hypothesis that they were telepathic beings, and they would be unable to pick Daniel's brains while he was unconscious in the next room.

"Well, we were often out of the country with Daniel," Melburn said. "Any illnesses he had during that time would only be entered as a sideline in the file, wouldn't they?"

"Not necessarily," Janet said, leaning her hands on her desk. "He had all of the usual childhood illnesses, correct? Mumps, measles, rubella, chicken pox?"

Both of them nodded, and Janet knew she had them. Daniel had had the chicken pox, measles, and rubella (which was also called "German measles"), but he'd never had the mumps. His parents would have known that. Most parents tended to remember the childhood illnesses clearly since they made children so miserable and often left parents very worried.

"Wait, Melburn," Claire said suddenly. "I don't think Daniel ever had the mumps."

Kicking herself mentally, Janet realized that they were not able to pick Daniel's brain, but they were perfectly capable of picking hers instead. Before she could say or do anything, two things happened simultaneously: her phone rang and the orderly appeared with Daniel's bloodwork. She blessed the young man's speed (and wondered if he'd set a new record) as she picked up the phone. "Dr. Frasier."

"Dr. Frasier, this is General Hammond. Are Dr. Jackson's parents in the infirmary?"

"They're right here, sir," she said, glancing at the readout. "We were discussing Daniel's medical history."

"_Keep them there,_" the general said. "Don't let them leave. I'm sending down security. They managed to leave my office without being seen and _with_ two guards in the room."

"I think that would be a good idea, sir," she said in response, blinking in surprise at what she heard. "Oh, I have Daniel's latest results, too."

"Good. I'd like to see them once I get there."

Daniel slept through the arrival of the SFs, General Hammond's arrival, and his statement that the two "parents" were going to be put in lockdown until their little "disappearing acts" were unraveled. Both of them protested, saying that they had done nothing, but they went with security once General Hammond made it clear that they did not have a choice. Once they were gone, Janet showed the general Daniel's results.

"This readout is from when he first came down this morning," she explained. "And this readout shows his results from a blood sample taken after his parents arrived. I think close proximity to Daniel is enough to give him the drug, although Melburn put an arm around him, and Claire gave him a kiss. This time, the dose he was given was larger than at previous times."

Hammond glanced at Daniel's sleeping form and felt a pang of pity for the young man. He'd been through a great deal of sorrow in his life, and now this had happened to him. Some issues in one's life should just remain buried. "I think it's time to confront these two with what we know and learn who they really are, as well as what their intentions are. Once Dr. Jackson is awake, have him report to the debriefing room, and I'll get the rest of SG-1 together. It's time we put an end to this, if just for his sake. Poor man looks half-dead from stress."

"I would suggest a little leave," Dr. Frasier told him. "Both as CMO, and as his friend. Something with plenty of distraction for him. Perhaps a trip to an off-world library?"

General Hammond smiled. "I'll take that under advisement, Doctor. And thank you." He left the infirmary then, heading back to his office. A slight commotion at the elevators kept him occupied ("I don't care whose fault it is; just clean it up! And next time you want to act like idiots instead of members of the US Air Force, don't do it in the corridors! You're lucky I'm not going to suspend you all for this!") for a short time, but when he arrived at his office he found his phone ringing. Irritated, he grabbed the handset and snapped, "Hammond," into the phone.

"General Hammond, sir," the SF on the other end began. "I don't know how to explain it, but I think we better lock down the base…They just disappeared, and we all passed out, and a med team got to us, but they weren't anywhere in sight…"

"You're babbling, airman," Hammond snapped. "Do you mean to tell me that the prisoners are gone?"

"Yes, sir, they are," the SF said after taking a deep breath. "Permission to go back to sleep, sir?"

Hammond hung up the phone, dialed for further security, and put the base on DEFCON 2. Then, he called the infirmary to let Dr. Frasier know that the "parents" were loose, their location was unknown, and it was likely that they might show up in the infirmary. Daniel was not to be out of anyone's sight.

"Don't worry, sir, I've got two orderlies with him," Dr. Frasier said. "And I've got him in restraints so they can't run in and grab him or hypnotize him and make him walk out. At this point, I'm not going to put anything past them."

"Good work," General Hammond told her. "Very good work."

Janet was about to reply when an orderly came rushing in. "Dr. Frasier! Dr. Jackson's gone! We didn't take our eyes off him, but he just disappeared!"

General Hammond heard what was said over the phone, hung up, and barked an order for security to get to the Gate room on the double.

"_Unscheduled Gate activation,"_ said the security system while the sirens began to wail.

"Damn! Too late, too late!" General Hammond didn't even bother to hang up the phone but shot out of his office toward the control room. Inside it, Walter and the rest of the staff were frantically trying to raise the blast shield and to turn off the Gate.

"Who dialed?" the general demanded.

"Haven't a clue, sir," Walter said as the rest of SG-1 came running in. "The computer started running all by itself and not even shutting the system down stopped the Gate from dialing."

"What?" O'Neill said in disbelief. "Where's Daniel? Dr. Frasier told us that he was gone. Called Carter up and said that he'd disappeared, and we'd better find you quick."

The Gate shut down, the blast door rose, and the iris closed. The room was empty, but doors A and C both opened, allowing SFs to flood the room.

"We've got access again, and the systems are responding, thank God," Walter said, tapping computer keys. "Systems report that three individuals went through the Gate, heading for—"

"554," Jack finished. "I knew it. General, do we have go for a search and rescue mission?"

"Most definitely, and you're leaving in ten minutes, so don't waste time."

No one did, but as SG-1 stood ready for departure, all of the SGC got a surprise: The Gate would not finish dialing to 554.

"Aw, hell!" Jack swore, sounding ready to kill something. "We should have known!"

"Well, how else are we going to get there?" Carter asked.

"Perhaps the Tok'ra or the Asgard could be of some assistance," Teal'c suggested.

"Or perhaps," General Hammond said over the intercom, "we could get the _Prometheus_ ready."

Jack stopped and looked up at the control room window. "I could live with that. Could we have it ready, say, by yesterday, sir?"

"I think that's doable, Colonel."

Space

Daniel had never felt so tired in his life, and he did not know why he had to leave his very nice and warm bed and get up and go with his parents somewhere. In some part of his mind he was screaming at himself not to go anywhere with them, that they were not to be trusted, and were not really his parents, but the rest of his mind was controlling his body, making him get up and walk. It felt as if some other presence—an altogether strange and _alien_ one—was in his head with him, making him walk along quietly. His father stood on right, his mother on his left, and they each held onto his hands and led him through the base and to the Gate room. No one noticed them, and no one stopped them. No one even _looked_ at them, and that was just creepy beyond belief.

They began to lead him up the ramp, and finally his mind broke free and he was able to stop. "No," he said, trying to pull his hands out of theirs. "No, I'm not going with you. You're not my parents. Let me go. I don't want to go with you."

"Danny," Claire said soothingly, putting an arm around him. "It's all right."

"That's right, scout," Melburn said, doing the same. "Just a short walk and it'll be over and you can rest. We promise."

Daniel shook his head, still trying to pull away but lacking the strength to break their grip. "No. You're not my parents. I shouldn't go with you."

"Of course you should," Claire said as Daniel's knees gave and Melburn caught him. "We care about you, Danny. We love you, and we're going to take care of you."

A kiss on his forehead clouded his mind further, and Daniel felt himself slip into sleep just as he was carried across the event horizon.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jack and the rest of SG-1 along with some support crew headed straight for 554 the same day Daniel had been taken by the two beings posing as his parents. None of SG-1 could believe how he'd been taken, but it'd happened. He'd been snuck right out of a high-security base and to another planet. Even with the Stargate, what they'd done was pretty incredible. What galled Jack the most of all was that they'd managed to do it even while they'd been expecting it. How pathetic was their vigilance?

If he'd had a TER in his hands when they'd been invisible…

"Sir?"

Jack came back to "earth" with an unpleasant bump. "Carter?"

"I was wondering…just how are we going to find Daniel once we get there? I mean, it's a pretty big planet, and there are any number of caves…"

"I've been thinking about that," Jack lied. "I figure we go first to that cave that Alberich showed us. Try talk to…what was her name? Alys? Yeah, talk to her. Let her know how very concerned we are and all of that, and could we have Daniel back?"

"And if she refuses?"

"That's where the plan gets fuzzy."

"Oh."

"I don't intend to leave without him, Carter."

"I didn't think you did, sir," she said quickly. "I'm just worried, I suppose."

"I'm worried, too. Heck, even Teal'c's worried."

Both of them looked over at Teal'c, who was standing by a window, looking out at the passing stars.

"He's worried on the inside," Jack amended.

"Yep."

Sam sat down in a nearby chair and looked thoughtful. "What do you think Daniel's doing right now?"

"If we're lucky, he'll be talking to them and boring them to death, and then he'll be headed home."

Sam smiled. "Or he could be having lots of Mom's home cooking."

"Or Dad could be playing baseball with him in a backyard somewhere."

Jack fell silent, and Carter guessed that he might have done that with his own son. She didn't say anything.

"Or maybe they'll have put him down for a really long nap. You know, he'd be easier to control if he's asleep."

"Maybe."

Both of them went off into their own thoughts, wondering if any of the scenarios they'd imagined could be true. They had no way of knowing what was really happening, and they were very sorry later that they'd missed it.

Space

Daniel could not remember ever being so tired before in his life. Not after his parents' deaths, finishing his thesis, or even after his wedding night. He was exhausted. He couldn't move or even think beyond "I am so tired."

Why was he so tired? He'd thought he'd been tired before, but this was infinitely worse. He thought hard and remembered what had happened—his "parents" had taken him through the Stargate. With that memory he found the strength to open his eyes and sit up. For a moment, he wondered if he were still asleep and dreaming, but he was certain he was awake. He was in a bedroom, but from what he could see, it was underground somewhere, perhaps in a cave. The walls looked like rough stone, and the ceiling was covered with stalactites. Torches burned in sconces on the walls, and the chill of the cave was eased by a fire in a built-in fireplace. He was in a bed with a featherbed mattress and a down comforter over him, with tons of pillows. There were two easy chairs in front of the fire, rugs on the floor, and shelves filled with books on the walls. There was not a window anywhere, but there were two doors, and they were closed, keeping him from seeing out.

Slowly, Daniel eased out of bed and pulled on the robe that had been draped over the foot of his bed. Tying the belt, he headed straight to the nearest door and tried the handle, and it opened to reveal a bathroom. Immediately he went to the other door and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Well, I don't know what else I expected," he muttered, moving away from the door. Looking about, he spotted a wardrobe and decided to dress. After all, if a chance to escape presented itself, he couldn't escape in a robe. Inside he found pants, shirts, shoes, and everything else he might need. He pulled some clothes on without thinking about it and was just buttoning the last button when his door opened, revealing his "parents."

"Danny!" his mother said, smiling. "We were just coming to wake you."

"Were you?" Daniel said, wondering just how to handle this. They might persist in pretending, or they might tell him the truth, but only if he played his part correctly.

His father nodded. "Feeling better, scout?"

So, they were still pretending. Well, he could handle that. "I'm feeling much better," he said, sitting down to put on shoes. "Just one thing puzzles me: Where are we? It looks like we're in some kind of cave system below the ground."

"Oh, yes, we are," his mother admitted, going to the wardrobe and pulling out a vest. "This goes over your shirt, Danny."

He didn't say anything as he put it on, but he examined the total effect in a mirror on the back of the wardrobe door. The outfit was definitely foreign, almost alien, in its appearance. That settled it. His "parents" were alien. It had been obvious for a while (their escape from the base, their appearance at the base in the first place, their abilities to automatically know things) but he had a good feeling that if they had had their origins on Earth (however unlikely that was) they would have had Earth clothing for him to wear, or at least a reasonable facsimile.

"You must be hungry," his father said. "You've been asleep for a while."

Daniel thought about this. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Last night and most of the morning," Claire said. "You were one sleepy peep, Danny."

Daniel smiled as he heard that, remembering that his mother had often said the same thing. He stayed quiet as they led him out of the room and into a corridor, which in turn led to a large kitchen. There was food on the table, ready and waiting and still hot. He looked about as both of them invited him to sit down and eat. It wasn't a modern Earth kitchen, but rather what one would find in a house from a century or two ago. Interesting. There was a cast iron range, but there was also a fireplace with a large hearth for cooking. There was a large hutch for holding dishes and silverware, benches, and a table and chairs. A sink with a pump on the far wall completed the room, and Daniel wondered just how you would do dishes with that thing. While he was looking about, his parents filled a plate for him and pulled out a chair, repeating their invitation. He sat and wondered just how he was going to handle this. They seemed to have tacitly admitted that they were aliens, but they were still pretending to be his parents. Why? What possible reason could they have for that?

Space

O'Neill woke up when someone banged on the door of his quarters. It was their third day out on their quest to find Daniel. It would take them perhaps a week to get there if they kept up their current speed, and the waiting had been getting to him. He'd gone to his quarters to attempt to relax, but that had quickly turned into a nap. He leapt from his bunk and flung open the door, stopping to stare at Carter.

"Sir--" she said, fighting down a smile. "An Asgard ship just hailed us."

Jack blinked. "Who?"

"It's Thor, sir," she said, the smile winning through. "He asked what was going on, and when we told him about Daniel, he offered to tow us to 554."

"As in being there instantly?" Jack said, pulling on his jacket and shoving his feet into his boots.

"Yes, sir."

Jack grinned. "Well, what are we waiting for?" he wanted to know as he shot out of his quarters and headed towards the bridge. "Remind me to take Thor fishing with me the next time I head to Minnesota."

Behind him, he heard Carter laughing. As he reached the bridge he saw people milling about, obviously waiting for him, and on the viewscreen he could see Thor.

"Thor! Buddy!" he said, scooting to where Thor could see him. "Great to see you! You know what's going on?"

"I do, O'Neill," Thor said, giving a single nod. "I am here to offer my assistance."

"Great! Wonderful! Daniel needs our help. He's been there way too long for me to be happy about it."

"I am uneasy as well, O'Neill. From what Major Carter described, these people could be good allies or terrible enemies. We must proceed with caution."

"Caution. Yep, definitely caution. Thanks, Thor. We appreciate it."

"It is, as you would say, no problem, O'Neill. Prepare to be towed."

The viewscreen went blank, and as the ship gained momentum, Jack felt calm for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Daniel was certain that he was in the hands of a very eccentric—and vigilant—alien race. As far as he could tell, he'd been in the cave system with 'Claire' and 'Melburn' for about three days (perhaps longer) and he was no closer to finding a way out. It was not for a lack of trying! Whenever he could elude his two 'parents' he would explore the caves, trying to find some way of getting to the outside world and the Stargate. Unfortunately, he was never able to explore for long, and usually, when it seemed he was about to find a way out, they would come out of nowhere and shepherd him back "in bounds."

"In bounds" was how he thought of "their" living quarters. They consisted of the kitchen, his bedroom, their bedroom, and a common living area. Outside of those areas were tunnels, which he explored frequently, but they never led to any other rooms he could see or to the outside. It was frustrating, and that frustration was beginning to show. He began to snap at Claire and Melburn sometimes, and it was clear that they were concerned with the change in his behavior. When asked what was wrong, he decided to let them know.

"I'm frustrated because you two are keeping me here against my will," he began. "I know you're pretending that you're not, but you are. You're pretending to be my parents, you've brought me here, and I have no idea why. I _know_ you're alien beings, and I know that you know I know that, so why are you still pretending? I mean, come on! How long could you possibly expect to keep me fooled, assuming you even managed it in the first place? You have to answer that!"

"There was a time when you were beginning to think it was possible, " Melburn reminded him.

"And the DNA reports say we're your parents, Danny," Claire pointed out.

"My name is Daniel, and as for thinking it was possible, look at where I work! Weird, unexplainable things happen all the time. How could I be certain at first that you weren't? And as for the DNA reports, all we saw was a printout, and computers can be fooled."

"Does it really matter?" Melburn asked suddenly.

"YES!" Daniel snapped, ready to scream. "It does matter! I want to know who you really are!"

Both of them were silent, and that very silence told Daniel a lot.

"You don't want to tell me the truth, but you don't know what else to tell me," he said, looking from one to the other. "Is that right?"

"That's our little scholar," Claire said, sounding sad.

Daniel sighed. These two were so _perfect_ at being his parents, and that was part of what made this entire situation so hard. They knew all the nicknames his parents had used, all their little habits and quirks, and they were as affectionate as his parents had been. He kept telling himself not to trust them, but every instinct he had told him that they were his _parents_ and they _could be trusted. _Unless, of course, they were mucking about in his mind, telling him that. He'd come across telepathic and empathic beings before, and he'd had his mind and emotions manipulated. It wasn't easy to realize that was happening to you since it was own perceptions that were being messed with, but after a while, you learned to question not only the world around you, but yourself. That was really scary, since if you couldn't trust your own mind, what could you trust?

"Why won't you tell me the truth?" Daniel persisted. "At least tell me that!"

Melburn looked thoughtful. "What will you do if we do tell you?"

"I'd thought it was understood that I didn't want to stay here," Daniel almost snarled. "You're afraid I'll leave if you tell me, is that it?"

"We're afraid you'll leave, period," Claire countered. "We don't want you to go, Danny."

"Daniel," Daniel told her. "And as for leaving--I'm going! I won't be kidnapped and held off-world somewhere! I have work to do, and I can't do it here."

"Well, we can't stay on Tau'ri with you, Danny," Melburn said quickly. "No one believed that we were your parents, and we made one too many mistakes there. So, we had to bring you where we could be safe but where we could still be with you."

"See, that's what I don't get!" Daniel complained. "You want to be with me--why? I do understand that you're pretending to be my parents so you can be with me, but since I know you're not..." He trailed off, confused. Something...wasn't right. What was it he was missing?

Melburn sat beside him on the couch, looking sad. "We're no longer pretending, Danny. As you said yourself, you know that we're not really your parents, but how else would we relate to you? How else would you feel comfortable with us? Your parents were the people you trusted most, aside from SG-1. Since SG-1 was already in your life, it would not have been appropriate to appear as them, but your parents...Well, it was the only other option we had. We're sorry that our choice upset you so much, but we feel it was the only one we had. Besides, you wanted to have your parents back, didn't you? You have enjoyed our company, haven't you?"

"You're avoiding the issue," Daniel said as coldly as he could. "I want to know who you really are."

"I thought you wanted to know why we wanted to be with you," Claire said.

Daniel groaned. "This whole situation is confusing. You two are lucky I'm still sane!"

They were quiet, and he had a sudden, sneaking suspicion that they were hoping he'd go crazy and would be unable to escape. If that were the case...

"How could you think that, Danny?" Claire cried, sounding genuinely upset. "We would never hurt you!"

"But you're keeping me prisoner!" Daniel almost shouted, furious that they were _still_ reading his mind. "And stay out of my head!"

He glared at them, wondering if he would manage to make it out of there before he lost what little sanity he had left.

--

With Thor towing the ship, they were at the planet within and hour, and Jack put in the order to have Daniel located and transported as soon as possible. He looked forward to having him back within soon so they could get out of there, but his happy view of the future was clouded when a bespectacled member of his crew gave him a startling announcement.

"What do you mean, you have a lock but can't transport Daniel up?" Jack demanded.

"Something's blocking it, sir," Walter replied. "We can find him and it's a very clear signal, but we can't bring him up to the ship."

Mutttering something about pounding two parents into the dirt, Jack put in a call to Thor. "Thor, buddy. We have a lock on Daniel, but we're not able to transport him up to the ship. You know our transporters inside out. Any thoughts?"

Thor's image appeared on the screen, looking pensive. "It is possible to block transportation even with a lock, O'Neill. From what you have told me of this race, they are advanced. Our transporters are powerful enough to reach even into the core of a planet, so if they are in caves as you suppose, there is little we can do to get Daniel Jackson out. Even a boost of power will make little difference."

Jack paced, thinking. "Do you think we could be transported down to where Daniel is?"

"What purpose would that serve, O'Neill?" Thor asked, surprised.

"It would mean that he'd no longer be alone down there with those two yahoos," Jack answered.

"I'd agree with you, sir, but what if they intercepted us and sent us somewhere else, or even sent us back here?" Carter asked.

"Major Carter's question is valid," Teal'c added.

"I'm willing to take the chance," Jack said. "You know, I could go down alone first, and if I make it, you guys can come after me."

"I would prefer to go together, O'Neill," Teal'c said, looking determined.

"That goes for me, too," Sam said, ready to cause mayhem if she didn't get her way.

"All right, so we all go," Jack said, turning back to the viewscreen. "What do you think, Thor? Is it possible?"

"It is," Thor admitted. "However, I would bear Major Carter's suggestion in mind, and think about it carefully. What if they did intercept you?"

"Then we cool our heels for a while until we figure a way out," Sam said, surprising even herself. It was strange how Colonel O'Neill's mannerisms rubbed off on you after a time.

"If you are certain..." Thor began.

"We are," Teal'c assured him.

"Then good luck to all of you," Thor said. "I will remain nearby, in case you or your vessel should require aid."

"Thanks, buddy, see you soon," Jack said, waving a little.

Thor nodded, and the screen went blank. Jack turned to his teammates, hoping that they weren't about to do something hopelessly stupid.

"Well, let's get ready. Supplies, that whole thing. We might be down there a while."

It took them only an hour to get supplies, weapons, ammunition, and first aid kits. It was possible that they'd need them. Once they were ready, Jack gave the order for the three of them to be transported.

"Good luck, sir," Walter said, as he pushed the button.

--

After his little conversation with his "parents," Daniel felt his resistance go down. When they suggested that they have a meal, he went along with them with very little protest. They'd either drugged him, or he was just plain tired of fighting. They were just settling down to stew, hot bread, and juice when light filled the room, and there were suddenly three people standing in the room with them. It was Sam, Jack, and Teal'c, all of whom were looking down at their empty hands. Jack looked upset and muttered something about getting his weapon back, but in the next moment they spotted Daniel and his 'parents.'

"Daniel!" Jack said happily. "There you are!"

Daniel practically _flew_ from his chair to the arms of his teammates. "What took you guys so long?"

"Well, you know me, I never stop for directions," Jack said, grinning.

"We came on the _Prometheus,_" Sam explained while Teal'c greeted Daniel. "We couldn't transport you up, so we came down."

"It was a waste of time," Melburn said, rising from his chair. "We knew what you were trying to do, so we blocked all transportations away."

Daniel turned to look at his 'father.' "All transportations away? You mean they can come, but they can't go?"

Claire nodded.

Now Daniel began to get angry again. "So you're going to keep them prisoner just like me, huh?"

"They came for you," Melburn said. "We will let them go any time they wish, but only as long as you are not with them."

"WHY?!" Daniel shouted, his patience at an end. "WHY are you DOING THIS?"

In the next instant, they were both at his side, their arms around him in a group hug that supported and was intended to comfort. "We don't want to lose you, Danny. You're precious to us."

The rest of SG-1 stood nearby, wondering just what the heck was going on.

"Anyone else feel as if they've wandered into the Twilight Zone?" Jack wanted to know.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Chapter 9—Cliffie Warning! (I'm so mean!)

"This isn't the Twilight Zone," Daniel muttered, pulling away from his 'parents.' "This has gone beyond all boundaries of weirdness as we know them."

"Well, that's bad," Jack said. "If it's gone _that_ far…"

His team members looked at him.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood," he said quickly. "I realize the situation is serious, so I…okay, shutting up now."

Daniel turned to his parents, looking at them very thoughtfully. He seemed to be thinking of quite a bit, but his next question surprised everyone. "Do you have pen and paper here?"

"Pen and paper?" Melburn said, surprised. "Of course. There are writing materials in the cabinet there."

Daniel moved to a large cabinet and opened it, poked around inside for a moment, and pulled out a pile of sheets, a bottle of ink, and a stylus. He turned around and saw everyone—even Claire and Melburn—staring at him.

"Whatcha doin'?" Jack asked, not understanding just what Daniel was doing and feeling his curiosity bug eating him alive.

"Um, not sure yet," Daniel admitted. "I'm going to go to my room and get started on this, you guys can stay here or come with me if you want, but I'm going to need quiet."

"Well, then, I'll stay here," Jack said quickly. "You know me, unless I'm fishing, I have trouble keeping quiet. Teal'c, would you mind going with Daniel?"

"We wouldn't harm him, Colonel O'Neill," Melburn said, sounding a trifle insulted.

"Yeah, but you have kidnapped him," Jack countered. "We're not leaving him alone. Got it?"

Neither of them said anything further, but it was clear that they understood.

"I think I'll stay here," Sam said. "I have a ton of questions to ask…um, Claire and Melburn."

"All right. See you guys later," Daniel said. "Try to avoid bloodshed, okay?"

Daniel left the room, followed by Teal'c, and that left Jack, Sam, Claire, and Melburn. There was a very intense silence until Jack spoke. "Anyone feel like a game of Scrabble?"

--

Daniel headed straight to his room, closely followed by Teal'c. He had no idea what he was hoping to accomplish, but perhaps by putting it all down on paper he'd be able to think about things more clearly. Often, it helped him to write things down. Just _seeing_ things in black and white helped him to think, and God knew that he needed all the aids to clear thinking he could get in this situation. There was something he wasn't seeing, and he had to find out what it was. As soon as he got in the door, Daniel set himself up a work station using a chair and the top of a low bookshelf for a desk. Teal'c left him alone by doing kel'no'reem in a corner. Daniel sat down and started making notes on everything he could remember learning about this place and the people, as well as what was 'different' or 'off' about Claire and Melburn. Also, he wrote down everything that did not seem to have a clear explanation, such as _why_ they didn't want to lose him or allow him to go away. He had a theory that once he had everything written down, a pattern might emerge that would lead him to some explanations.

Hopefully.

--

"What is Scrabble?" Melburn asked, surprised.

"Ah, it's a word game," Jack explained. "It's really more Daniel's thing, but since you two are so much like Daniel…Well, unfortunately, I don't have a set with me. Perhaps we can chat instead?"

"Chat? About what?" Claire asked after offering them seats.

"Well, Carter, you said you had questions?"

"I did," Sam assured her CO as she sat down. "First of all, how did you block our transporters?"

Melburn smiled as Claire shook her head. "I don't think you'd understand," she said. "It's very complicated."

"Well, try me," Sam said, keeping her patience as well as she could. "I'm a physicist."

"What makes you think we'd answer your questions?" Melburn wanted to know. "After all, you've come to take our son away from us."

Jack got back to his feet, biting his lips to keep from shouting. "Okay! First of all, he's not your son. His parents died when he was eight years old. Second of all, you've got no right to keep him here! This is _kidnapping_ and _unlawful imprisonment_ and half a dozen other things that I don't know the names for! As soon as he's ready to go and as soon as we can find a way to get out of here, we are gone. Understand?"

Melburn actually chuckled, and Jack wondered how much prison time he'd get for killing a sarcastic alien. "What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Colonel, we can block your transporters. We can keep you from leaving these caves. We can keep the Stargate from dialing. It will be very hard for you all to leave if none of those avenues of escape are open to you," Melburn explained patiently.

"Well, we're good at getting stupid ideas supposedly 'more advanced' beings have trouble understanding," Jack snapped. "We'll think of something."

This time, it was Claire who seemed amused, and it was Sam who almost lost her patience. "Okay, what's funny this time?"

"I'm sorry, it wouldn't be apparent to you," Claire apologized. "We took human form to go to your planet. Doing so has given us understanding of how humans think, but you have no such advantage to understanding us."

"Oh. Meaning that you just might possibly be prepared for anything we could cook up," Jack muttered. "Okay, I can see that. Great. Just one more mental bridge we'll have to cross when we come to it." He looked around the room, contemplating the re-decorating he'd do if the place were his. The Batcave look just wasn't working.

"About the transporters," Sam said, returning to her topic.

Claire nodded. "The simplest explanation was that we made them think differently."

Sam felt her eyebrows go up toward her hair. "Think? Differently?"

"We made them believe they had fulfilled their mission when they hadn't," Melburn clarified.

"Okay, I understood every word they said, but I don't understand what the heck they mean," Jack said, tossing a throw pillow up and down. "That's a first. I understand the words, but not the meaning."

Sam stayed silent, but she had to admit to herself that she was in about the same position as Colonel O'Neill. She didn't see what they were driving at. "Think differently. You mean you re-programmed them to do something different?"

Claire shook her head. "Not really. Re-programming means that they would actually do something different and their protocols would show what it was they were to do. When we influenced your transporters we didn't have to touch the protocols."

Jack kept playing with the pillow while Sam put a firm hold on her frustration. "Okay, you managed to make them do something that was outside their programming—to do something that they hadn't been given the commands for. I get that. _How_ did you do that?"

"We made them think differently."

With Herculean effort, Sam managed to resist the urge to throw something. "_How_ did you make them think differently?"

"We told them what it was we wanted them to do," Melburn said. "It is…like re-programming in the sense that we told them to do something different, but unlike it in the fact that we didn't re-program them. It is more like we asked a favor, and they did it."

Sam blinked. "These are non-sentient machines. The only things they're able to do are what they've been programmed to do. How can they do a favor for someone?"

Claire sighed. "I told you that you wouldn't understand. Not really. You have the general idea of it with your understanding of 're-programming,' but I think that we are expressing ourselves in a way you aren't grasping."

"How so?" Jack asked, setting the cushion aside.

"Think of your simple dimensions," Melburn said. "A single-dimensioned figure is a line consisting of infinite points. A two-dimensioned figure would be a squared line, forming the geometric figure known as a square. A three-dimensioned figure would be a squared square, forming a cube."

"Okay, I've got that," Jack said, wondering how this little lecture had anything to do with what they had been talking about. "Line, square, cube."

"The fourth-dimensioned figure would be a squared cube, which is another way to say 'time' or 'the progression of events.' The fifth-dimensioned figure would be the squared cube moving from one location to another without traversing the distance between the two points in real time. That is how your ship's engines work."

Jack blinked, and Sam nodded. "Hyperspace," they said together.

"Exactly," Claire said, taking up the lecture. "The sixth-dimensioned figure would be the cube in communication with all other figures regardless of shape, function, or origin since that dimension is pure communication. That is how we were able to ask a favor of your transporters."

"What happened to the cubes?" Jack asked.

"The cubes were just examples," Sam said, sounding thoughtful. "Communication…you communicated directly with our ship's transporters?"

"Yes."

"And…they were able to directly communicate back with you?" Jack said, surprised.

"Well, they did what we asked them. That's as good as communication," Melburn offered.

"Uh-huh. So, this communication…Is it one-sided?"

Claire seemed confused. "What do you mean?"

"Can you communicate with our people directly without us being aware of it?" Jack persisted.

"It can be that way, yes," Claire said, nodding.

Sam understood what the colonel was saying. "How about us communicating with you when we're not aware of it?"

"Even now you're communicating and you're not aware of it," Melburn said, sounding like a teacher who was proud of his prize students.

"So, you're reading our minds?" Jack asked, just to clarify. At Melburn's nod he continued. "Okay, so that's how you were able to find out so much about Daniel. How are you able to make him go to sleep? How are you slipping him that drug?"

"It's another form of communication," Claire told them. "It works on the same principle as pheromones, except the 'drug' is formed within Daniel's brain from the direction of our 'pheromones.'"

"So, you're giving his brain the instructions to make its own drug through some kind of chemicals that waft off of you?" Jack asked, confused. "How come we're not all affected?"

"The 'chemicals,' as you called them, are keyed to Daniel specifically."

Sam had a sudden suspicion. "Have you told Daniel any of this?"

"He hasn't asked," Melburn said. "We would have told him if he'd asked, but so far he's only asked what we want with him, and not how we do what we do."

"Of course," Jack muttered. "So, how'd you make him leave the infirmary with you? Is that another form of communication?"

"We communicated not with Daniel, but with his body. It was the same form of communication as making the 'drug,' but it had a different result," Claire said. "Otherwise, we would have had a very hard time getting him to go with us."

"Yeah sure, you betcha," Jack said. "How come you're telling us all this? Aren't you worried we'll find some way around this stuff?"

"Not really," Claire said. "We can influence your bodies, but you're not really able to do the same to us. At least, not consciously and not with direction."

"Are you going to tell Daniel all this?" Jack asked.

For the first time, they seemed uneasy. "What if he's angry with us over it?"

"He's _already_ angry," Sam pointed out. "He's angry that you've kidnapped him and are keeping him here and that you've not been answering his questions. What did you two expect?"

"We were hoping…that in time…he'd come to accept us and be happy," Melburn said.

"Oh, come on!" Jack snapped. "Tell the truth, huh?"

"That _is_ the truth, Colonel!" Claire snapped back. "Why else would we go through all this trouble?"

Jack almost snapped again, but his brain was one step ahead of him. Why else? Well, there really was no sensible 'why else.' What they were saying had to be the truth, crazy as it sounded. Hadn't some Hokum guy spouted the theory that the simplest answer was the best one? Or wait, had it been the craziest answer? Hmm. His head was starting to hurt from all this thinking!

"I think that you should tell him," Sam said quietly. "If you want him to listen to you, start by telling him all this, and then answer his questions, whatever they are. Be completely honest with him. Otherwise, he's just going to keep trying to leave you, and he's not going to accept the platitudes you're giving him. Eventually, he'll stop listening to you altogether, and then you'll have a really hard time getting through to him."

"I can't believe I'm going to say this after all the trouble you two have given us, but I agree with Carter. Daniel…he very rarely holds a grudge. I don't think that he'll hold one against you. At least, I don't think so. Now, it could be me talking to you or you making me say this, but try apologizing, and try telling him what you've told us. Ten to one he'll listen."

--

Daniel rubbed his eyes, unknowingly leaving smudge marks on the bridge of his nose. How long had he been working? He had no idea. Teal'c was still doing kel'no'reem in the corner, and there wasn't a clock anywhere in the caves, so he couldn't really tell what time it was.

He glanced down at his notes, wondering if he was far too close to the problem to make sense of it. He'd covered sheets and sheets with lots of notes about every facet of the situation, but he hadn't learned very much or come to any new conclusions. In fact, he was beginning to feel even more confused than he had been earlier. He read through his notes again for the umpteenth time and began to jot down main ideas on another sheet, hoping that he would be able to catch the gist of the problem that way. He finished that sheet and looked it over, hoping to see something new.

_Parents Back From the Dead_

_--Alberich said that it's a blessing from the elves—how is it a blessing? I have them back again?_

_--Elves—are they something more than a story? Powerful alien race who decided to protect the people here? (Reminds me of the Asgard.) This would explain how they do the things they do. At least, it could be one reason._

_--Why don't they want me to leave? They appear as my parents since I can relate to them that way. What's so important about me staying here? They CAN'T really want me to stay just because they like me!_

He stared down at his latest page of notes, feeling exhausted. That one sheet was a pathetic result for that large amount of work. He sighed, capped the ink bottle, and wandered into the bathroom to splash some water on his face. He had his face buried in a towel when he heard someone knock on his door. "Come in!" he called, hoping it was Jack.

"Daniel?"

At the sound of Melburn's voice, Daniel had to fight down a sudden urge to slam the bathroom door in the guy's face. Claire was with him, and Daniel had a feeling that he was about to learn something at long last.

"Could we talk with you, Danny?" Claire asked.

"About?"

Melburn put an arm around his shoulders and hugged. "About everything, scout. We're going to tell you the truth."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10-Parents

Things aboard the Prometheus resembled barely-controlled chaos. "Bedlam" or "pandemonium" would have been close synonyms since it just wasn't _normal_ for all of SG-1 to suddenly go missing at once. Colonel O'Neill had a tendency to disappear sometimes, especially when the Asgard were around, and Dr. Jackson, well, aliens loved him. The fact that all four members of the SGC's flagship team had disappeared and couldn't be transported back to the ship was cause for concern.

Walter knew better than anyone that SG-1 could handle anything thrown at them. How many times had he seen them come back from impossible missions? Sitting up in the control booth, he'd seen them come back from countless impossible missions. Sometimes they were a little banged up and bruised, sometimes they were a little traumatized, but they always came back and it was never very long before they were back to their old selves and ready to go on another mission. Now, it looked like they might not be coming back.

People working the transporters were trying everything they could think of to get them back. They could get a lock on all four members of SG-1, but whenever they tried to transport them, the transportation wouldn't even engage.

"I don't want to have to tell the general that his best team's not able to transport up," one of the techs said as he examined the transporters. "He's liable to have that apoplectic fit he's been threatening."

"Let's not borrow trouble until he's actually having that fit," another tech said. "Then we'll worry about it, all right?"

"I can't help thinking about it," the first one said. "He did say that he didn't think he could stand much more of having SG-1 in trouble. Didn't he retire once because of all the worrying he had to do?"

"But he came back," the second tech said. "Like I said, don't worry about it until it's a problem. Let's focus on the problem at hand."

"As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with the transporters. They're in top condition, but _something's_ going wrong."

"I'm thinking it's the aliens who have Dr. Jackson," the second tech said. "They're pretty advanced since they were able to stop the Gate from dialing, so it stands to reason that they could stop transporters. Now, the problem we have is to figure out how they're blocking them and override it."

"Nothing's changed in the programming here, so there has to be something they've done down on the planet."

"Okay, I'll have people start scanning for any anomalies, see if there's anything we can work with or switch off. You keep working here and let me know if anything changes."

"Will do."

Walter didn't have to see into these guys' heads to know that they were as worried about SG-1 as everyone else was. Everyone was wearing the same strained look and more than once Walter had seen someone jogging his or her leg up and down, a sure sign of trying to work out excess stress.

For once, Walter was very, very glad that General Hammond was back on Earth. If he were actually on the ship, Walter was sure that there would be a lot of people approaching breakdowns.

* * *

"What do you think is going on in there?" Jack asked as he paced. He, Carter, and Teal'c were all in the living room, asked to wait there by Daniel while he spoke to his "parents." Needless to say, the waiting was starting to get to him.

"A lot of talking, O'Neill," Teal'c said. "It is likely that they are explaining."

"They'd better be," Jack said darkly.

"Yeah, Daniel deserves it," Sam stated. "They've put him through hell I couldn't imagine, so he's definitely owed some explanations."

The two men looked at her. Usually, Sam didn't get angry. Not like this, anyway.

"Carter?" Jack said cautiously. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said rigidly. "Why?"

"I dunno, it just seems like there's something wrong," Jack said. "Like something's bothering you."

"What would be bothering me?" Sam demanded, getting to her feet and pacing. "The fact that my very good friend Daniel, who has already been through countless versions of earthly hells through no fault of his own, finds himself in yet _another_ type of hell due to two aliens who don't know how to take a hint—why should that bother me?"

"Hey, I think that's a very good reason to be bothered," Jack said quickly. "It's a perfect reason to be bothered. You don't need to justify it."

"It just ticks me off," she complained, picking up a pillow and pitching it across the room. "What did he ever do that he deserves to have the universe treat him like this? Not only is he forced to live through the worst moments of his life more than once, he's been tortured, kidnapped, held prisoner, injured, and now he's having his head played with by two aliens with delusions of parenthood!"

"Major Carter, are you worried how Daniel Jackson will cope with this?"

"Of course I'm worried!" she snapped. "You weren't there when the Gamekeeper was messing with his head and making him witness his parents' deaths over and over again! You didn't see his face or have him throw himself into your arms after seeing it again! I couldn't stand it then and I can't stand the fact that they've dug up all these old memories! It just isn't fair to Daniel! It's not!"

She sank into a chair and hugged a pillow, her eyes swimming with tears.

"He's one of the kindest people I've ever known and it's like the universe can't give him a break! Something always has to happen to him!"

"Carter, we know how you feel," Jack said. "Trust me, there's quite a few times when I've been tempted to do something to protect Daniel."

"I, as well," Teal'c said. "Daniel Jackson is an individual that is easy to care for and worry about."

"Yeah, I've suggested a few things to Hammond in order to keep Daniel safe," Jack said, hoping that Sam would take the bait.

She did. "Like what, sir?" she asked, wiping her eyes.

"Maybe a plastic bubble," Jack said. "You know, a big one with a computer and lots of books and maybe a coffee dispenser."

Sam cracked a watery smile, glad that her CO was kind enough to try to amuse her out of her teariness.

"What?" Jack asked, seeing her smile.

"I don't think Daniel would stand being kept in a plastic bubble, sir," she said.

"Okay, where would you guys put him to keep him safe?" he asked.

"I would protect Daniel Jackson in a reinforced underground bunker," Teal'c said. "The walls would be covered with script for him to translate so he would be occupied."

Sam chuckled and hugged her pillow. "Good idea, Teal'c, but I don't think translating it would take him very long. Once he'd finished he'd be searching for a way out."

"Okay, what would you suggest, Carter?"

Sam thought about it. "A library. I'd try to keep Daniel in a very big, very safe library."

"Sounds perfect. Do you think the government would be willing to loan us the Library of Congress?"

Sam threw her head back and laughed while Teal'c and Jack chuckled. It looked like Jack's attempt to cheer up his 2IC had worked.

"I don't think so, sir, but it's a nice thought."

"Indeed," Teal'c said. "It would be nice to know that Daniel Jackson is safe, but I do not think he would stand for being locked up in an effort to make him so."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, doing something like that would make us no better than anyone else who's tried to keep Daniel prisoner."

"Tempting, though," Jack said. "Waaaaay tempting, don't you think?"

"Yes, sir."

"Indeed."

* * *

If SG-1 could have known the directions General Hammond's thoughts were taking, they would have laughed. At the moment, George found himself considering a way to get Daniel to take some downtime just so he would be out of danger for a while.

_If I were still young and still had hair left, it would be gray by this point with all the worrying I've done about that boy,_ he thought, reviewing Daniel's file. Daniel wasn't a boy, but he certainly brought out the same protective tendencies that everyone usually reserved for children. Whenever something happened to Daniel, the entire base seemed to worry.

Why did crises often come so quickly after one another? Just before SG-1 had gone to 554 they'd gone to another planet that had been full of perils for Daniel. The society had been a feudal one, similar to Simarka with a clan structure, but the people there had lived in cities and lived in a matriarchal culture. Oddly enough, the feudal culture didn't do much feuding. Instead, the lady overlords of each city attended a council meeting every six months, and it was because of those frequent meetings that there was peace.

SG-1 had arrived on the planet just as the council was meeting, which was good, since they got to talk to all the leaders at once, but it was bad since all of the leaders were in the same place, including one woman who thought Daniel would make the perfect husband for her.

_That poor, poor man,_ Hammond thought with a bit of amusement. _It was clear she fell head over heels for him and thought they should get married right away, but it was a bit of a shock for her when Daniel didn't share her views._

It had been a big shock for her, but it was an even bigger shock for SG-1 when they learned that it was acceptable for women to kidnap the men they wanted and make them their husbands. It was more than accepted, young women were actually encouraged to do it so their mothers didn't have to worry about locating suitable husbands for them.

_According to Major Carter's and Teal'c's reports, Colonel O'Neill swore a blue streak when he found out that Daniel had been kidnapped and none of the locals were going to do anything about it,_ he remembered.

Daniel had spent a very tense week in that woman's compound while SG-1 negotiated for his release. Once they had explained the situation several times and the woman had heard Daniel's views, she let him go. Still, she'd offered to have him as her husband should he ever change his mind.

_What was it that Daniel had said to Jack once they were back? He'd have to be a glutton for punishment before he accepted her offer?_ That could have been it.

Hammond had sent them off to 554 two weeks later hoping that a new mission would take away the nervous look Daniel had been wearing since his previous mission, but then his parents had shown up in the base…

He sighed. Sometimes, life just wasn't fair for the people how most deserved to have a fair life. Hopefully, something would change for the better for Daniel.

* * *

Daniel sat on the edge of his bed, his "parents" in chairs across from him. He sat very still and told himself to take deep, calming breaths. _It's going to be all right,_ he told himself. _You'll be fine._ It was odd, but he didn't feel fine. No, instead, he felt like crying. Scratch that, he felt like having a full-blown, all-out tantrum, one with plenty of kicking and screaming and throwing things. It wasn't dignified or how an adult should react, but that was what he wanted to do.

They weren't his parents. He _knew_ that and he'd known it all along, so why was he so upset? Why did he feel as if the world had turned against him yet again?

"Danny?" Claire said, looking at him with concern. "I know you aren't all right."

"I'm okay," he lied. "I'm fine."

The explanation of their motivations and how they'd done what they did hadn't taken long. Forty-five minutes or so at the most. It was the rest of their explanations that took a while and left him feeling as if someone had pushed him off a cliff.

"Daniel, you do understand what we've told you, right?" Melburn asked, sounding nervous.

"Yeah, I understand," he said quietly. "You're both…members of the 'elves' here, which means you're part of an advanced alien race. When humans were transplanted here by the Goa'uld you took them under your protection and drove the Goa'uld out. The humans didn't understand what you were and called you elves and since then you've been content to be in that persona."

"And what did we tell you about us and you?" Claire prompted.

"Your people could sense unhappiness in me, so you all decided that it would be good if I got to see my parents again. The two of you took on their likeness and searched my mind for knowledge of them so you would appear convincing and you followed me to Earth. When it appeared I was resisting you and couldn't seem to accept who you were, you used your other abilities to get into my mind and help me accept you as my parents. You used those same abilities to keep my mind fogged so I wouldn't think too much about it and then to bring me here."

"That's our scholar," Melburn said.

Daniel pursed his lips in thought. "There's just one thing I don't understand," he said quietly. "You know I know the truth; why are you keeping me here?"

Claire looked sad and Melburn put an arm around her. "There's a good reason for that," she said. "You see, when we're in a form other than our own, we take on the thought processes and emotions of the form we adopt. If we take on a specific person's form, we begin to think like that person and behave like that person. Most importantly, we begin to _feel_ like that person would. We wanted to keep you here because…" she trailed off, as if uncertain of how to say it.

"We kept you here because we were afraid of losing you, Danny," Melburn said. "What we feel for you is what your parents—your real parents—would feel at the thought of their only son leaving and not coming back. Neither of us could bear it. We couldn't bear the thought of the SGC separating us from you, so we brought you here. You would have a much harder time going away from here and we wouldn't lose you so quickly."

Daniel looked at them and he could tell that they were close to tears. Melburn kept swallowing and Claire was blinking a lot. His parents always did those things when they were trying hard not to cry or let their emotions get away from them.

Daniel nodded. "I see."

Both of them looked at him, their expressions incredulous.

"No, I really do understand," Daniel hastened to reassure them. "I understand why you did what you did and I accept your reasons."

Melburn swallowed a few more times and brought his eyes up with an effort to meet Daniel's. "Can we hope for forgiveness, Daniel?"

Daniel looked at them, from Melburn to Claire and back again. "I don't know yet," he said honestly. "I still have questions."

Claire sat up straight and gave him her attention. "We'd be happy to answer them, Danny."

"If I told you that I still wanted to leave, what would happen?"

Claire's eyes shot off a rapid-fire blink and Melburn's Adam's apple bobbed up and down a few times before he got control of himself. "We would let you go," Melburn admitted, and it was clear to Daniel that each word had to be forced from his throat.

"Would you follow me back to Earth?"

"Not unless you wanted us to," Claire said, her voice hoarse.

"Before I left here, would you do anything to me that would make me want or need to return?"

Both of them shook their heads. "No." "No, sweetheart."

"Would you try to contact me later in an effort to bring me back here?"

"No," Melburn assured him. "We wouldn't do that."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Daniel wanted to know. "After all the things you've done, how can I know you're telling the truth?"

Neither of them knew what to say. Daniel had a point, they knew it, and he knew it.

"For what it's worth," Claire said at last. "Our people can give you the assurance that they would make sure we would do nothing after you left. They would abide by your wishes. In essence, you are refusing the blessing, so they must accept the situation and enforce it."

Daniel got up and started to pace, his mind working furiously. All of their explanations made practical sense, but there was something that didn't quite fit and something that he wasn't seeing. It was important and he could tell that it had to do with everything they'd done so far, but what _was_ it? He looked at Claire with her tear-filled eyes and then looked at Melburn with his grim face and stopped mid-pace as something became clear to him. A jigsaw made up of what he'd seen and heard since this whole mess began to put itself together in his mind and completed the picture. Could it be that _simple_?

"One more question for right now, and I want you to answer it one-hundred percent honestly," Daniel said quietly.

They waited, expecting a verbal ax to fall.

"Do you love me?"

Claire finally burst into tears and Melburn hugged her, tears pouring down his face.

Daniel waited and let them cry. It looked like they needed to do it. When he saw that they were having trouble stopping, he went to his dresser and took a few handkerchiefs out of the top drawer and handed them to them. His gesture made them both break down again.

"Please don't cry," he said at last. "Did I…did what I say hurt you?"

Melburn shook his head. "No," he choked out. "You didn't hurt us, Danny."

"Then what is it?" he asked, beginning to get rather worried.

"We love you," Claire gasped, trying to get herself under control. "Oh, Daniel, we both love you so much."

Daniel looked at them, Claire with her face buried in the handkerchief and Melburn trying to comfort her. "So that's why you didn't want to let me go," he said. "You love me."

Claire nodded wildly, almost bashing her head on Melburn's chin while he nodded as well. "We love you, Daniel," he said, looking at the younger man. "We love you as if you were our own son. Before we took on human form, we didn't realize how strong human emotions could be or how deeply they could affect us. We can tell that those feelings will remain the same even after we change back to our normal forms and others of our kind have confirmed that that is what will happen. Those feelings for you are why we're so reluctant to let you go."

Daniel tilted his head to the side and considered this. "You're saying you'll miss me."

Claire lifted her face from her handkerchief and looked at him. "Yes. We will miss you very, very much."

"But we understand why you wish to return home and why we should not have taken you the way we did," Melburn added. "We understand."

Daniel was quiet and took his seat on the bed, leaning back against the pillows and headboard. He was thinking very, very hard. Claire and Melburn waited, sniffing occasionally, but they were quiet, letting him think. They remained quiet as he got to his feet and paced again and they were still quiet when he stopped and looked at them.

"You love me." This time it wasn't a question.

"Yes," they both said, one after another.

"Would you do something for me?"

This surprised them. "Of course," Melburn said while Claire nodded. "What is it?"

"I'd like it if you could help me say goodbye to my parents," he said after a moment. "I didn't get the chance to say goodbye when they died. Just after I say goodbye, I'd like you to become yourselves. Will you do that for me?"

Melburn looked confused. "Say…goodbye?" He thought about it and he seemed to understand. "Yes, I think we could do that. Claire? What do you think?"

She nodded, smiling. "Yes, Danny, I think we could do that."

Daniel smiled. "Then I'm ready now."

They both stood and held out their arms and Daniel all but flew into them, content to let them embrace him.

"I love you, Mom and Dad," he said, hugging them back. "I'm sorry I was bad sometimes. I loved you even when I was being a brat. I'm sorry I got angry when you left me and I'm sorry I hated you when you died and left me alone. Even when I was angry I loved you both more than I can tell you."

He felt Claire kiss his forehead and felt Melburn run a hand over his hair.

"I know you can't stay with me," he said, fighting tears. "I will miss you, but I know you have to go. I know it's past your time to leave. I understand. I'll think of you often and remember you as you were and I'll be happy. You won't have to worry about me; I'll have Jack and Sam and Teal'c as my friends. They'll take care of me just as I take care of them. Thank you for letting me say goodbye this time. I love you."

"We love you, too, Danny," Melburn said, wrapping him in a bear hug and pressing his lips to Daniel's temple. "We'll miss you, son."

"Oh, sweetheart," Claire breathed, kissing Daniel's cheek and holding on as if she never wanted to let him go. "We love you. We love you so much."

"I know," Daniel said, his throat tight. "I love you, too. Goodbye, Mom and Dad."

"Goodbye, son. Goodbye, Daniel. We love you."

Daniel felt the arms release him just as he stepped back and light filled the space where his parents had been. He waited, squinting, but then he had to put up a hand to shield his eyes. The light faded after a long few moments and he took his hand away. In the place of his parents stood two people who looked as if Tolkein had called them into being.

"Hello," Daniel said. "My name is Daniel. I'm a peaceful explorer from a place called Earth. What are your names?"

The male "elf" smiled. "I am Lidanas. This is my wife, Yarenna. We are pleased to meet you, Daniel."

Daniel smiled. "As am I. May I ask what your people call themselves?"

"We are of the people Eolinath," Yarenna said. "What do your people call themselves?"

"We call ourselves humans, or Tau'ri," he answered. "We are exploring the galaxy in order to learn more about other worlds."

"You are welcome here, Daniel of the Tau'ri," Lidanas said, smiling. "You and your friends are welcome. As the representatitves of the Eolinath, we have the authority to tell you that our people have heard of you and wish you as allies. As the first of the Eolinath you've met, it is our honor to offer you the protection and companionship of our family. In essence, acceptance on your part would cause others of our kind to recognize you as our child and would grant you the same rights as someone of our kind."

Daniel blinked and realized what they were saying. "If you would like to have me, then I'd be honored."

They held their arms out as an answer and Daniel stepped into them. As he felt their arms wrap around him, he could sense their overwhelming love for him. It was as if he'd found some measure of home.


End file.
